By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Philippine-based esports squad Blacklist International continued its magical run in the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) M4 World Championships after clinching a seat in the upper bracket finals last January 11, 2023.
The reigning and defending M4 World champions nipped the RRQ Hoshi squad from Indonesia, 3-2, during the upper bracket semifinal stage.
Blacklist qualified for the upper bracket semifinal after crushing RRQ Akira in just four games, 3-1, in the upper bracket quarterfinal stage.
It was so far Blacklist’s most difficult series in the biggest MLBB stage of the year after going down early against RRQ Hoshi, 0-1.
Blacklist also had to fight through a hostile Indonesian crowd as thousands of esports fans flocked to Jakarta to support their home bets.
RRQ struck first in the upper bracket semis duel after their signature physical damage burst lineup penetrated Blacklist’s defensive picks.
The Indonesians’ Joy pick proved to be the difference in the match as the hero snowballed its way after picking up all six items.
Despite OhMyV33nus’ Estes pick, Joy’s capability of bursting any type of hero helped RRQ to pick up map objectives quickly.
Blacklist then responded in Game 2 after banning Joy and went back to their original plan of protecting their cores with their heavy sustain.
Oheb’s Brody pick was too much for RRQ matched with Hadji’s pesky Pharsa that always canceled the Indonesians’ attempt to backdoor via bush.
Both teams answered wins that set up a pivotal and deciding fifth game. As RRQ chose to stick back with their burst-oriented lineup, the Filipinos picked their signature Barats hero.
Blacklist’s comfort picks resulted in a positive result after outdueling the home team in front of a loud Indonesian crowd.
