PRIOR to their matchup, RRQ was deemed a threat to Blacklist's UBE strategy given how they easily dispatched Onic PH.
And true to their reputation, they managed to give the defending MPL Philippine champions a run for their money in this series.
But in the end, Blacklist International stood tall with clutch plays in the dying minutes of Game 3, punching them a ticket to the Grand Finals, awaiting the winner between two Indonesian representatives, Onic Esports and Alter Ego.
Wise's heroics for Blacklist
Many question Danerie James "Wise" Del Rosario's worthiness of being considered an elite level jungler due to his lack of assassin options. But in this series, he proved that his odd choice of jungler heroes could also make miracles.
In Game 1, his Barats was a constant thorn as he was seen roaming around and pressuring RRQ's map control.
He even became a clutch factor in teamfights as his entrances would take down an important member from RRQ.
Plus, with the tankiness of his hero, he was able to cause a distraction where he singlehandedly went against four members from RRQ, eliminating Psychooo and zoning out Schevenko David "Skylar" Tendean.
RRQ's poke damage proved to be a threat
After a disastrous Game 1 loss, RRQ made crucial adjustments that allowed them to dictate Game 2. If the previous Game saw their Yve banned by the Codebreakers, they were given the opportunity to select the long range threat in Game 2.
In numerous occassions, RRQ's tandem of Rivaldi "R7" Fatah and Teguh Imam "Psychooo" Firdaus shocked the Agents as their damage outburst took key members down, most notably Johnmar "OhMyV33nus" Villaluna.
The Codebreakers stood no chance against the Esmeralda and Yve duo.
In the gruelling third game, RRQ featured a Yi Sun Shin and Brody combo which was able to weaken Blacklist's in the latter stages of every teamfight. They even secured the Lord which would've given them the monickers of UBE spoilers, but eveything changed in the final moments of Game 3.
The final play
Game 3 featured both teams exchanging blows at the latter stages of the match and it seemed Blacklist may have wasted Kiel "OHEB" Soriano's tower-pushing antics after losing two key members in Edward "Edward" Jay Dapadap and Salic "Hadji" Imam.
But the 22nd minute changed everything when Blacklist made a crucial turnaround amid the numbers disadvantage. Seeing that RRQ needed to reset after the 21st minute teamfight, they immediately went after the Lord and capitalized on their burst damage from from OHEB's Clint and Wise's Bane, instantly shutting down the Lord. RRQ were left scrambling afterwards as Blacklist's damage combined with the healing and movement speed bonus from OhMyV33nus' Rafaela changed their fortunes, proving the clutch mentality of the Codebreakers.
An honest mistake
During the post-match interview, OhMyV33nus saidt that he wants to face the Indonesian champions, Onic Esports, due to his history playing for its sibling rival from the Philippines.
"I personally want to meet Onic because my former teammates are from Onic PH," mused the Blacklist shotcaller.
He even mentioned that he wasn't surprised that RRQ banned his heroes given his experience in MPL S8.
"Actually the support ban, most of the time we've already predicted them. It will shock us more if they don't ban the supports."
His coach cannily advised their opponents try other methods and he even admitted that the Game 2 loss was all under his hands.
"Maybe they should ban OHEB, because most of the time it's always V33nus or Wise."
He added: "We just reset and then figure out what was wrong and honestly it was my mistake in the 2nd Game, it was an honest mistake in the Draft."
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