MANILA - Blacklist International on Monday evening released a statement explaining their absence in the MPL Season 11 Grand Finals post-match interview.

In the statement, the Tier One-backed organization said the decision was made "solely by the management," as ECHO's post-match interview "ran longer than anticipated."

"After yesterday's Grand Finals at the MPL, our MLBB team was on standby for their post-match interview Due to the winners' interview session running longer than anticipated, our coaching staff and management made the decision to inform the league that we would forego this interview in order to allow our players to rest and take their dinner," the three-time MPL champion team said on their official social media accounts.

"None of our players begged off from the post-match interview with the media. It was made with our team's fatigue, hunger, and overall wellbeing in mind," Blacklist said.

It also promised to establish a better relationship with the media.

"We do recognize that as an organization, we need to do better by our media partners and friends. They are an important part of the esports ecosystem and we appreciate them helping us tell the story of our players and teams," Blacklist said.

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In an addendum statement on their group, a moderator said all sides have been reached, including some members of the media who have expressed frustration over the decision to skip the interviews to settle the issue.

"All is good between everyone involved, so I hope we can refrain from making any personal attacks from here on out. We’re all passionate about this team, these players, but let’s be better than that." Enrique Manalang said.

Blacklist International succumbed to ECHO in 4 games during the MPL Season 11 Grand Finals held at the SMX Convention Center.

Blacklist were coming off a hot start in the playoffs, after defeating Omega, Bren, and RSG to claim their Grand Finals slot.

Physical post-match interviews started in MPL Season 9.

But teams, such as Blacklist International and Bren Esports, have held post-match interviews from their boot camps since MPL Season 7, regardless of the match result, when the tournament was held remotely in the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.