IF SEASON 8 saw Blacklist International in their most dominant form, Season 10 saw the Codebreakers grasping for victories, even with the much-awaited return of the V33Wise tandem.
Losses against notable powerhouses Omega Esports and ECHO PH — and even against up-and-coming teams like Bren Esports and Onic PH — have revealed cracks in the Codebreaker armor.
In fact, this is the season where the team suffered the first back-to-back loss of the V33Wise era as both Onic and ECHO thwarted them.
While Onic could have made history as the first team to beat the V33Wise-led Blacklist twice in a row, the Codebreakers dodged the bullet with a definitive 2-0 sweep.
During the post-match interview with Mara Aquino, Johnmar "OhMyV33nus" Villaluna pondered the possibilities.
“Ang pagkakasabi ko noon is ever since na lumipat kami ng Blacklist, wala pang nakakatalo sa amin [...] twice na same team,” she said.
“Hindi po meaning na walang makakatalo sa amin ever. Alam ko naman na hindi kami god of ML, and it is bound to na matalo talaga kami. Pero as much as possible, gagawin namin yung best namin para hindi mangyari iyon.”
Given how close and intense most of their games are in Season 10, the possibility has always loomed over the team.
“Especially ngayong Season 10 na sobrang lakas talaga ng team, so mangyayari at mangyayari yan sooner or later. Noong nabasa ko yung title na walang makakatalo sa amin ng dalawang beses kase feeling ko hindi ako yon eh kase alam ko naman ever since na matatalo talaga kami and ayon," she explained.
V33nus shows her appreciation to the Blacklist community
With the Codebreakers being pushed to the wall in most of their matches, the team definitely needed the support of their community.
Before the match against Onic PH, fans at the stands did her their best impression of OhMyV33nus’ signature crown pose. The Queen admitted that she was aware that the crowd would follow her iconic pose.
“Yes, sinabi ng marketing, pero nakakatuwa tingnan. Actually, isa rin yun sa nagpa-boost ng confidence ko," she said.
In the end, she expressed how overwhelmed she felt with the amount of support the team garnered amid the massive setbacks in the past few weeks.
“Grabe sobrang thankful ako sa mga sumusuporta sa Blacklist especially sa laging pumupunta dito sa venue lalo na yung sobrang aga na pumipila para makanood sa amin, sobrang nagpapasalamat kami sa efforts niyo.”
She added: “And yung mga sumusuporta online, sana lagi niyo pa rin kami suportahan and ginagawa namin yung best namin para bumalik sa top and thank you.”