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| Photo from Moonton |
by Drew Malihan
MAKATI - Blacklist International bounces back from their opening game loss against AP.Bren with a thriller win against Minana EVOS, on back-and-forthSaturday, to close their MPL Philippines Season 13 Week 1 campaign on a high note.
It was anything but ordinary for both Blacklist and Minana, who have to endure all three games combined for one hour and 17 minutes, including an almost 32-minute Game 2.
Blacklist came strong in Game 1 albeit going for a jungle Natan for Stephen "Sensui" Castillo and a fighter gold lane Ruby for Kiel "Oheb" Soriano, while Minana went on to the more conventional route with a jungle Akai for Ken Louie "Kzen" Pile.
Sensui's instincts were on full display as his Natan went with four kills and three assists while claiming two clutch lord steals in the late game.
Edward Jay "Edward" Dapadap's Cici added two more kills and four more assists while having zero deaths, while Jan Dominic "Domeng" Delmundo's Brody led Minana with six kills.
The Codebreakers tried to pull the same trick out of the hat but Minana's tenacity proved too much as Lance "Lancecy" Cunanan's Lylia led the way with an 11/4/9 KDA.
The back and forth affair did not go well for Blacklist in the end, as Lancecy stole the lord from Sensui and company, and with Kenneth "Yue" Tadeo and Salic "Hadji" Imam down the count, pushed Blacklist to defend to no avail.
Minana EVOS decided to steal the Ruby from Blacklist, with the latter opting for a jungle Barats instead to be paired with a utility hero in Kaja.
From there, it was all Blacklist as Oheb led the way with a perfect 7/0/2 KDA with the Karrie, while the rest of his teammates secured all major objectives including three turtles and three lords.
Brain Milez "SpiderMilez" Santos' Rafaela helped with a kill and six assists but the heals were not enough for Minana as they were dominated economy-wise from the start.
With the win, both teams ended their week with a 1-1 record, but Minana topped the table with four points thanks to a sound win against TNC last Friday.
Both teams will see their next matches on March 23, as Minana will take on ONIC, while Blacklist will try to earn more points against TNC Pro Team.
Follow him on X: @drew_corner
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