Blacklist International survived the challenge from Minana EVOS in a thrilling best-of-five series, staying alive in the MPL Philippines Season 13 Playoffs
Break the Code out of the gates.
Blacklist International started the first day of the MPL Philippines Season 13 Playoffs with a bang, scoring a 3-2 victory over the Minana EVOS at the SM Southmall Wednesday, May 22.
The Codebreakers’ playoff mode was on full display right in game one against the White Tigers.
Minana Evos drafted a lineup for crowd control, but Blacklist International answered with the elusive Benedetta and Claude with a purify spell.
Edward “Edward” Dapadap displayed his mastery on Benedetta early with a follow-up play to Salic “Hadji” Imam’s Edith three-man knockup.
Minana EVOS trailed close to Blacklist International with a small margin in gold, but the momentum slowly favored the Codebreakers’ side after the skirmish in the middle lane during the seventh minute.
Mid laner Kenneth “Yue” Tadeo on Vexana took down Jann “Kirk” Gutierrez’s Yu Zhong, eliminating the potential threat to Blacklist International’s backline.
Edward continued to deliver fancy plays with a crucial solo kill on Jan "Domeng" Delmundo’s Moskov, resulting in an uncontested lord objective.
The Codebreakers refused to extend the late game and finished it in 18 minutes.
Edward’s signature aggressive and slippery gameplay on Benedetta earned him the MVP badge with a 4-2-4 KDA.
In game two, Minana EVOS adjusted their execution and took revenge against Blacklist International.
In the early game, the White Tigers took three turtle objectives, which resulted in trimming the map control of the Codebreakers.
Even without the lord marching on their side, Minana EVOS carried out a four-man elimination against Blacklist, tying the series at one apiece.
Brain "SpiderMilez" Santos precision on Novaria’s astral recall and flawless 6-0-7 KDA spelled the difference for the White Tigers.
In game three, the Codebreakers suppressed the White Tigers’ roar with an unorthodox jungler Carmilla pick.
Minana made the effort to contest the nine-minute mark lord objective hoping to turn the tides, but only resulted in a two-man casualty.
For a moment, Minana’s tough base defense and the elimination of Stephen “Sensui” Castillo and Kiel “Oheb” Soriano in the 14-minute period staved off Blacklist.
However, the moment of truth arrived when Blacklist took out four Minana squad members during the 19th-minute push to a defenseless base.
Sensui’s sturdy and pesky Carmilla propelled Blacklist to take a 2-1 series lead and was crowned the MVP with a 2-2-12 KDA and 88% kill participation.
In game four, Blacklist drafted a similar lineup, concentrating on crowd control but Minana flipped the narrative.
The White Tigers pulled off a stunning comeback against the Codebreakers in the grueling 22-minute game four, with Blacklist squandering an early gold lead and map control.
Minana’s four-man elimination of the Blacklist squad was enough to force a deciding game five, tying the series, 2-2.
Domeng’s commendable marksmanship on Lesley with a 6-2-6 KDA led the Minana in the fourth-game fightback.
In game five, Blacklist showcased a new flavor of the ultimate bonding experience or known as the “UBE” strategy.
The Blacklist went for an early game aggression, yet were disciplined against Minana, not conceding any deaths until the nine-minute period.
Blacklist took a massive map control and racked up a gold lead of more than 10,000 to deny Minana of their jungle objectives.
Minana managed to steal the lord objective, but Blacklist cleared it with ease and went for a base siege to deliver the final blow.
Yue’s artillery mage Pharsa with a perfect 5-0-4 KDA and 100% kill participation was the Codebreakers’ key to victory in this best-of-five series.