THE SERIES between Blacklist International and BTK had the MPL-PH champs keeping an eye on Michael "MobaZane" Cosgun's hero pool, evident from the Roger, Yi Sun Shin, and Natan bans.
It was only in Game 5 that Cosgun was finally given a chance to pick his signature hero, and he proved his prowess that hammered the final nail in Blacklist's upper bracket run.
During the post-match media interview, Cosgun explained how Blacklist should've dealt with the threat level of his hero pool.
“I think they should’ve looked for a way to counter it, instead of a way to ban it," he mused. "So I think they did focus tot hard. They should’ve maybe given me those heroes and actually ended up picking counter heroes or something similar to that.”
He wasn't too concerned about the bans.
“I didn’t really think much about it because it was definitely a possibility going into this match today because we did see EVOS SG and See You Soon in the group stages pretty much do the exact same thing," he reflected. His team, therefore, had a chance to prepare.
"Honestly, usually I laugh. The first reaction, the first game, we pretty much all started laughing, but we did come prepared for something like that to happen and we executed perfectly.”
No coaches needed for MobaZane and BTK
While Blacklist boasted the tactical prowess of Coach Kristoffer "BON CHAN" Ricaplaza, BTK came into the matchup without any tactical support from coaches or analysts.
They could've used an outside source to relieve the pressure away from MobaZane's shotcalling, but Cosgun revealed that his team doesn't need the service of a coach.
“I’m glad that we don’t have an analyst or coach, I feel like we perform those tasks of analyzing an enemy’s draft and analyzing how a game goes better than most (if not) all analysts and coaches. So I do think it’s a better environment,” he explained.
Their confidence to play without a coach has reached a different level especially after winning against the heavy favorites, to the point where the team believes that they could surprise everyone and reach the Grand Finals.
“I’m confident that we will be able to reach the grand finals," said MobaZane.
At what levels? According to his teammate, ZIA, "200%!"
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