Blacklist International gold-laner Kiel Calvin "OHEB" Soriano. Courtesy: MPL Philippines
MANILA - Blacklist International's Kiel Calvin "OHEB" Soriano will be facing a 2-game suspension and a $500 (P25,000) fine after flashing his middle finger after a match against Smart Omega, the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League announced Saturday evening.
In a statement, MPL's operating committee said OHEB, who was last season's best-performing rookie, violated a rule on "making a prohibited pose" with the act.
"MPL-PH Operating Committee does not tolerate any form of abusive behavior in the league and we expect our professional players to follow a strict code of conduct," they said in a statement.
On top of this, OHEB was already given a fine by Blacklist International.
The two-game suspension will mean OHEB, who is statistically the defending champs' best-performing player this season, will miss Blacklist's last regular season match against Bren Esports, and their first playoff match.
After being stopped by his teammate in his first two attempt, OHEB sneakily tried to flash the middle finger on the camera after the gold-laner carried Blacklist to a 2-0 sweep against Smart Omega.
The move made OHEB trend immediately after the match, with a mix of tweets condemning the act or simply reacting to the move in jest.
The squad, head coach Bon "Bon Chan" Ricaplaza, and OHEB himself immediately apologized and said they will accept whatever sanctions the league will hand over.