TWO HISTORY DEFINING TEAMS, two iconic teams that have shaped the meta, two teams that serve as a Yin and Yang to each other, both Blacklist International and ECHO PH have made a legacy like no other.
It took them 11 games for them to boss around the league, only for it to end gloriously by the hands of a contender like the Coach Yeb-led Onic PH and Coach Panda and Irrad's RSG Philippines.
What they've accomplished will be a tall order for the other teams.
Given their feats, wouldn't it be interesting to see these two record holders clash against each other? If ever they'll get a chance to collide in a fantasy matchup, who would win? Let's take a look.
The Unbreakable Code
What made Blacklist unstoppable back in Season 8 stem from the following factors. The meta during that period allowed the Codebreakers to switch Salic "Hadji" Imam and Johnmar "OhMyV33nus" Villaluna's roles, where Hadji can try Chous and Martises while V33nus can deploy Yves or Pharsas.
It was also during that period where Danerie James "Wise" Del Rosario can unleash a plethora of jungle options from Bane, Granger, Barats, which is further expounded with the likes of Fredrinn and Valentina in the current patch.
In addition, Blacklist also had so many options in the gold lane as Kiel "Oheb" Soriano can utilize mages or marksmen type heroes.
There was no breaking the code back in those days as Blacklist was blessed with a plethora of fluid options as the patch simply favored them. Combined that with the prowess of the V33nus' shotcalling and the flavor of 'UBE' and Blacklist reached their perfection during that tenure.
But in case Season 12 ECHO will challenge their Season 8 peak, will the Codebreakers unleash their full potential?
The House of Highlights
Meanwhile ECHO PH has a different playstyle as they are more of a high risk, high reward kind of team that loves to aggressively overwhelm their foes, which was evident in their M4 finals performance, which saw the team masterfully destroy the code.
In Season 12, ECHO has a lot of options in terms of personel as the Orcas can switch from Jaypee "Jaypee" Dela Cruz to Tristan "Yawi" Cabrera when needed, and both can actually light up the field.
But that's not the only key feature for the Orcas as Mitch Liwanag's interview with Wolf would show why the Orcas are such a dominant force in the current MLBB setting.
Mitch would force her players to venture out of their comfort zones, which was a major criticism for Blacklist once teams started pounding them in Season 11. Given Liwanag's mindsetting to the Orcas, ECHO can play numerous gameplans as Jaypee can be used for 'UBE-related' strategies with his Angela picks, though Yawi can also deploy OhMyV33nus' heroes when needed.
And we can go back to Alston "Sanji" Pabico's choice of midlane options as he can run-and-gun with either mages, or a surprise Gusion or Gloo picks, that can mold Karl "KarlTzy" Nepomuceno's jungle pool.
Plus if there's one thing that can ruin Blacklist's gameplan, it's non other than Sanford "SanFord' Vinuya's Yu Zhong pick, which historically has proven to be a thorn to the Codebreakers, like what happened in the IESF finale against Indonesia back in 2022.
CONCLUSION
Seeing these two colossal titans clash in a dream matchup would definitely be a spectacle for MLBB fans though it can be argued that they've technically met since ECHO fought against Blacklist's Season 8 roster back in the M4 World Championship.
In the current setting, Blacklist with the V33Wise tandem could be a threat as supporting heroes recently received a massive buff, though there's the counter argument that the gold lane options remained with marksmen heroes, meaning that the Hadji-V33nus switch may not be a viable option.
With ECHO's fluidity, the Orcas will definitely win in the current setting.
However what if the Season 8 patch was resurrected, will the Orcas still win? Personally, I would argue that the outcome is extremely unpredictable as both teams can explore multiple options. Things could go to distance, but I'm leaning slightly towards ECHO as they have masterfully dissected Blacklist's playstyle in previous seasons.
Verdict: ECHO wins
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
