MICHAEL “MOBAZANE” COSGUN once described Blacklist International’s gameplan as “a good strategy” that makes the meta “very boring.”
If the latter part of his statement is up for spirited debate, the first part is undeniably true. After all, the Codebreakers just ended up in the grand finals of the M4 World Championship.
It's Mobile Legends history in the making, as Blacklist might end up as the first team to reach back-to-back M-series trophies.
During the post-match interview with Mara Aquino after their 3-2 battle against ECHO PH, Coach Kristoffer “BON CHAN” Ricaplaza was thrilled with the idea of being hailed as the best team in MLBB history.
“This really means a lot to us because there are so many reasons. I think if we will get this M4 World Championship, this will cement the legacy of Blacklist International and I think we will be the undisputable... the best team ever built in ML history.”
Another M trophy — the esport's first-ever back-to-back one, to boot — would cement their place in the pantheon of Mobile Legends.
His team also chimed in.
“Syempre sobrang saya kasi first time para sa amin lahat. Tapos may chance na mag-back-to-back world champion kami sa worlds, so kami pa lang makakagawa nun. Sobrang saya!” said Hadji.
Kiel “Oheb” Soriano added: “Sobrang saya na meron kaming shot na mag-back-to-back. Sobrang saya [rin] kasi sobrang intense din yung game. Parang sobrang refreshing noong nanalo kami kasi sobrang intense yung laban."
What can we expect from Blacklist in the M4 finals
One of the key reasons for Blacklist's success is their fluidity in the hero pool.
Take a look at Danerie James “Wise” Del Rosario, who would unleash a Fredrinn, then Kaja, then Guinevere, and a random hero.
With so much to display, Wise is confident in his abilities.
“Of course, I’m confident because I’m the only one who doesn’t use assassin and yet here I am. If you have [the] choice to become 1,000% confident, I’m that confident," said the Blacklist jungler.
But Wise isn’t just the only one with a deep arsenal. Throughout the world series, teams have variously tried to ban V33nus’ signature hero, or let the Blacklist shotcaller be.
Yet no matter what happens, V33nus revealed that her team is always prepared.
“Actually, we’re kinda expecting that there’s a high chance that they will ban Estes and we prepared for that. But it just so happens that they keep opening it so it just happens that we don’t have a choice but to pick it, and pick it, until maybe our next match, ban it and show our next strat,” she said after their win against RRQ.
But it wasn’t just V33nus who they should watch out for as The Queen herself revealed that there are other notable threats.
“Maybe it’s kinda expected because there’s a lot of overpowered heroes right now. They also have to watch out for Hadji’s Pharsa and Edward’s Benedetta, and maybe [that's] the reason why they lost again,” she said.
Why allow their comfort picks? BON CHAN tried to place himself in the mindset of his opponents.
“Maybe the main reason why they opened our signature heroes is mainly because if they will just ban it, maybe we’ll just release a new set of heroes," he surmised. "So they might just choose what they’re expecting and then try to counter it.”
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph