AS NEXPLAY EVOS squandered their first test to reach the playoffs, an opening arrived for both Blacklist International and Omega Esports to capitalize on in their last game of the regular season.
A sweep for either team would secure their playoff spot: a 2-1 series win for Omega would suffice, while a 2-1 series win in favor of Blacklist could force a tiebreaker between the two teams. However, Omega will proceed to the playoffs due to the overall win-loss record.
Unfortunately for the Codebreakers and reigning M3 World Champions, they suffered from a major setback as they succumbed to Omega’s late game heroics in both games, eliminating them in playoff contention. Blacklist finishes at the 7th place with 14 points, while Nexplay garners a sigh of relief as they have also secured their playoff spot.
How Omega prevailed over Blacklist
The early stages of Game 1 was a back-and-forth support skirmish. Both Joshua “Ch4knu” Mangilog and Patrick James “E2MAX” Caidic tried to create plays for Dean Christian “Raizen” Samagui, while their counterparts Salic “Hadji” Imam and Mark Jayson “Eson” Gerardo tried to defend Kent Xavier “Kevier” Lopez from any of their aggression.
It seemed Blacklist was able to address their assaults as they managed to push the lanes and secure important jungle objectives. Plus, they had the burst damage from Kevier and Edward “Edward” Jay Dapadap which complemented the stuns from Hadji’s Popol and Kupa, allowing them to weaken Omega at the latter stages of the match.
However, it all boiled down to the final play in the 17th minute. With their immortalities prepared and with a perfect setup by Ch4knu on Kiel “Oheb” Soriano, limited the damage output of the M3 champs.
It likewise didn’t help that Blacklist was separated due to Ch4knu’s ult which weakened their damage output, allowing Omega to finally secure their playoff spot.
While Game 1 was a come-from-behind win, Game 2 was a back-and-forth clash between the two teams. Though Blacklist tried their best to smother Omega’s early game with their early group ups as well as the mobility from Edward’s Benedetta, Omega’s clutch genes once again took centerstage.
Omega’s lineup featured strong burst damage heroes, namely Xavier, Clint, and Masha allowing them to instantly eliminate key targets.
Combined with Ch4knu’s late game heroics, Blacklist struggled to win teamfights, as seen in the final moments of the match. Ch4knu was able to deliver a three-man knockup with his Chou on the 21st minute, eliminating Hadji and Oheb.
Then when Blacklist tried to go for the GG push, a single ult from E2MAX forced them to retreat.
Then came the 29th minute, where E2MAX popped his ult, forcing the Codebreakers to retreat, but along came Ch4knu with the surprise backstab play and Blacklist crumbled afterwards and kissed their playoff hopes goodbye.
Given their win, Omega can still defend their MSC title.
Coach Ynot encourages the community to support their team
Though Omega managed to secure their playoff spots, they showed a huge level of respect towards their foes.
As they celebrated their victory, a deflated Blacklist International left the stage with Kevier overwhelmed by his emotions, drawing sympathy from Omega's life coach, Anthony "Ynot" Senedrin.
"It was his rookie season and nakita ko yung emotions sa kanya na overwhelmed siya, kase nga do-or-die yung match eh and I kinda feel for him kase coming from a championship team like Blacklist tapos pumalit siya," he reflected.
He even shared his thoughts on fans harassing Kevier.
"Tapos hindi maganda yung nangyari and it doesn’t help na yung mga fans natin, I mean I’m grateful sa mga fans pero please take it easy with the players sometimes. They have it so much na kase just playing for this big organization."
He added by giving an important food for thought saying: "If you support them kapag champion sila, support them kahit bagsak sila. Kailangan nila iyun."
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