ONIC ESPORTS will try their best to finally end the dynasty of dominance from the Philippines in MOONTON's prestigious MLBB tournaments, as they challenged Blacklist International for the MSC 2023 throne.
While Blacklist has been the most historical and the most dominant team in the previouse years, Onic dispatched them in the finale as they secured a 4-2 series win, ultimately ending the MPL Philippines' reign in MOONTON-based international events.
For the Filipino imports namely Kairi "Kairi" Rayosdelsol and Coach Paul Denver "Yeb" Miranda, the pair has finally ended their international title drought.
How Onic ended the Philippines' dominance?
In Game 1, Coach Paul Denver "Yeb" Miranda showcased his drafting masterpiece as he banned Johnmar "OhMyV33nus" Villaluna and Kenneth Carl "Yue" Tadeo's signature heroes.
In the end, Blacklist was left with only a few options as their Novaria and Minotaur picks became their final choices and it seemed Coach Yeb wanted the Codebreakers to deploy these heroes.
Blacklist responded by banning Muhammad "Butsss" Sanubari's heroes, only for him to play the classic Coach Yeb special, Uranus.
As the match started, Onic slowly nipped the heels of OhMyV33nus and they timed their engagements courtesy of the Novaria's scouting prowess. Once the opportunity arrives, Kairi "Kairi" Rayosdelsol would finally attack.
And as this went on, Butsss slowly gained momentum through cutting the lanes, reminiscent of Gerald "Dlar" Trinchera in the M3 World Championship.
In the end, Onic secured the Game 1 win.
The following Game saw Blacklist ban Kairi's signature heroes as both his Fanny and Ling were eliminated and how did Onic respond? They tasked Kairi to play the Bane, however he isn't the primary threat for the Hedgehogs.
Instead it was Calvin "CW" Winata and Butsss who took centerstage.
Edward "Edward" Jay Dapadap is renowned for being a counterthreat against split pushing teams, however his Terizla pick lacks the mobility to chase CW, nor does he have a strong wave clearing presence.
This allowed CW to dictate the early tempo of the match and with Lee Howard "Owl" Gonzales getting killed, there was more space for the Indonesian gold laner to keep pushing.
Meanwhile, Butsss would cause a lot of havoc through killing Owl as well as punishing Blacklist in the chokepoints.
As Butsss was thrashing the Codebreakers, CW perfectly waited for the right moments to strike and the final play ultimately led to Onic's 2-0 advantage.
The Sky King emerges
Onic could've gotten the 3-0 advantage if it wasn't for the final Lord fight in Game 3, but with Blacklist opening his Fanny in Game 4, it was time for the Sky King to ascend to his throne.
At last, Kairi can now use his Fanny and his presence ultimately thwarted the Codebreakers. The extreme mobility he brings would pressure squishy targets and could force Blacklist to waste their abilities.
But he wasn't the only one who would distract the Codebreakers as Kiboy would use his Noumenon Blast as a bait for the Codebreakers to stomp him, allowing CW and the rest of the crew to melt Wise and other targets.
Eventually, Kairi would deliver the finishing touches, giving Onic a 3-1 lead.
Unfortunately, Onic wouldn't be able to finish the Codebreakers as they stumbled in Game 5, but they managed to bounce back in the final game.
Coach Yeb realized one crucial winning condition, denying the Novaria and Valentina combo.
Kairi likewise got the greenlight to play his signature Fanny, while Butsss avenged his awful Game 5 performance as his Masha became a major threat in Game 6.
All these factors paved the way for Onic to secure the MSC trophy.
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