IN A ranked game between defending MPL-PH champions Blacklist International and MPL Brazil runner-ups Keyd Stars, the results turned out extremely lopsided.
The Codebreakers dominated the Brazilians with a whopping 26-9 scoreline, thanks to a flawless performance from Danerie James "Wise" Del Rosario's signature Yi Sun Shin. Even his longtime partner Johnmar "OhMyV33nus" Villaluna shined with his potential new support hero, Gord.
During an online zoom conference hosted by Moonton, Keyd Stars talked about how this loss affected the team.
"The guys from VK (Vivo Keyd/Keyd Stars) right now, they're training and they're experimenting with different characters," revealed Keyd Stars team manager, Elias Park.
He added: "So despite the loss that people might have seen, VK is preparing to be as competitive as Blacklist and take the game to the same level."
Keyd Stars faces the group of death
The loss against the Filipino champions — widely touted as one of the title contenders for the M3 World Championships —has certainly prepared Keyd in dealing with the group of death.
In their bracket, the Brazilian squad will face off against the defending Indonesian and MPL: Invitational champions, Onic Esports, as well as their sibling team, Pinoy powerhouse Onic PH.
The Brazilians will also encounter strong resistance from Malaysia's Todak Esports, who has potential to surprise a lot of teams with their unorthodox methods.
But VK isn't fazed with whatever challenges are ahead of them.
"So VK has decided to win, we're here to win," responded VK head coach Cabral. "So we understand that it's a best-of-one, so there is no room for error, but we're not intimidated by the teams we're playing against. We're going strong and we plan to make the best game that we can actually do."
Things are certainly looking up: They were able to deliver an impressive scrimmage result against Indonesian juggernaut RRQ.
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