THERE WILL BE NO roster changes for Blacklist Rivalry for the upcoming Tour 2 of the 2023 DPC season, according to Tier One Entertainment and Blacklist CEO, Tryke Gutierrez.
Gutierrez confirmed the roster with media on the sidelines of the G2 Blacklist debut watch party held last February 17.
Dubbed the PH redeem team, Blacklist Rivalry missed the first major of the new DPC season after losing a closely contested series against Andrei “skem” Ong led Geek Slate, and suffering a sweep against Talon Esports in a tie-breaker.
Questions of a possible roster shuffle are abound in the DPC SEA scene after Fnatic announced that they have disbanded their Dota 2 squad. The free agent market for the region suddenly became heavily stacked with “The International”- level players suddenly finding themselves looking for a home for the rest of the season.
As per Gutierrez, Blacklist won’t be dipping its hand in the market just yet. However, he did explain that there was one player that he wouldn’t hesitate to get had there been different circumstances.
“Actually sobrang-sobrang hirap hindi kunin si DJ as an organization. But if you have someone like Tims what will you do? Diba?”
The Fnatic captain and mainstay is a household name in the scene. While a great position 4 player, Tryke explained that had they not have Tims in their roster, they would have pulled the trigger for the move.
“Kasi they’re the top 2 position 4 in the tour. While some might say palitan is Eyyou for DJ, but the 5 position is so much different from the 4. So hindi ko talaga kaya igiveup si Tims for DJ cause for me, they’re the two best already and if we already didn’t have Tims, napaisip talaga kami for DJ. Pero beyond DJ kasi yung ibang positions secured na kami doon kasi eh.” Gutierrez explained
“The players that we have, we are very happy with the lineup,” he added.
Is Kuku on the move?
As for Kuku, the offlaner is here to stay for Blacklist and has full confidence of Blacklist.
Kuku has been on the receiving end of fan criticism for a while now with many mistakenly attributing Blacklist’s losses on him.
“Kahit na gustong gusto na nila (fans) alisin si Kuku sa lineup namin, ako ayoko naman kasi ok naman kami kay Kuku eh kahit na everyday naririnig ko na aalis na si Kuku minsan nakakareceive ako ng email na alisin na si Kuku. Kumbaga ako guys hindi niyo talaga alam kung ano talaga kailangan sa team,” Gutierrez said.
“Tanggap na namin yun, kahit panalo kami si Kuku na may kasalanan, matalo kami si Kuku pa din yung may kasalanan. Tinatawanan na lang namin at this point.” He adds.
Blacklist looking for a coach.
Gutierrez did reveal that the team is looking for a coach. He explained that the last two games of DPC proved that the team needed a coach to keep up with the rest of the teams.
“The decision to not get a coach was mutual, but dun ko na nakita na kailangan ng coach. Akala ko to be honest hindi namin kailangan ng coach sa qualifiers and we would get in and we would get a coach. Pero (Geek Slate)’s draft really exposed our lineup.”
“We went into game three, literally one clash away diba? So hindi ako sure if we had a coach that would have changed the clash. But what I’m sure about is I am not going to a major without a coach.” He added.
Despite their tough break in Tour 1, Tryke reaffirmed the team’s commitment to the Dota 2 scene.
“There are bad breaks, pero gaya nga ng sabi ko, nakakasa ako sa buong taon. We will not Dota 2 for the whole year, that’s the plan. It’s very clear to us hanggang TI to.” He ended.
Ninjaboogie in the running as the team coach
Meanwhile, another source inside the Blacklist Rivalry camp has told Spin.ph that the squad will be tapping, Michael “ninjaboogie” Ross Jr. as its coach for the upcoming Tour 2.
The source also bared that the team is merely finalizing contract details and will make the announcement soon.
Ninjaboogie was a key piece in the dominant 2019 season Mineski roster. He last played for Team SMG in April 2022. More recently he served as an analyst with Epulze for DPC SEA Tour 1 broadcast.
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