Ch4knu's return sweeter as Omega keeps playoff hopes alive

Photo from Moonton

by Drew Malihan

MAKATI - Joshua "Ch4knu" Mangilog's return to the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang pro scene becomes even sweeter for Smart Omega as they pull an upset against a much-favored Blacklist International side in Week 6 of the MPL Philippines Season 13.

Ch4knu, who stepped away from the main Smart Omega team and joined their academy side Smart Omega NEOS while studying, made an immediate impact in two games.

Omega pulled a Game 1 comeback against the Codebreakers, with Ch4knu's Minotaur getting the MVP nod with a kill and game-high 11 assists.

Blacklist International led for pretty much the entirety of Game 1 until a Ch4knu-assisted team fight gave Omega the upper hand.

Nowee "Ryota" Macasa's Masha proved to be too much for Blacklist's main damage dealers, taking down two in the process, while Jayson "UKIR" Alupit took down one as well.

This prompted Blacklist to go for a split push with Edward Jay "Edward" Dapadap taking down Ryota but was too late as the latter bought time for the rest of Omega to push towards the exposed Blacklist base.

Ch4knu's Mathilda also played big in Game 2, contributing to all 14 Omega kills in a 14-6 beatdown of Blacklist in 15 minutes, most of which was in the last three minutes.

A takedown on Kenneth "Yue" Tadeo's Vexana turned the tables for Smart Omega, with UKIR's Novaria and Ryota's Cici finishing the clash to give their team a solid late-game lead.

It was Andrew "Andoryuuu" Flora who flourished in the second game, with the Barats getting a 6/2/6 KDA while securing two lords in the game.

It was a bad day at the office for jungler Stephen "Sensui" Castillo, who hadn't had the best of matches using a jungle Carmilla.

The usually tank-support hero made its debut in Season 13, with the last one to use the hero being Kairi "Kairi" Rayosdelsol for Blacklist in Season 6, back when he was still known as "FULL CLIP."

With the win, Smart Omega improved to a 2-9 record with seven points while ending their three-game losing skid.

Blacklist on the other hand ended their two-game win streak and has remained at 13 points with a 4-7 record.

The Codebreakers will have one more shot to clinch the final playoff spot as they will take ONIC Philippines, while Smart Omega will need another upset to keep their dreams alive against defending champs AP.Bren, both on a Sunday.

Follow him on X: @drew_corner