MANILA -- (UPDATE) AP Bren on Friday locked in the first M5 World Championship slot after defeating Blacklist International, 3-0, in their MPL Season 12 playoff bout at the EVM Convention Center in Quezon City.

Blacklist, seeking its third straight world championship appearance, however, will have another go against the match winner of the bout between RSG Philippines and reigning champions ECHO later in the evening.

AP Bren made quick work of Blacklist, capping off the three-game series with a nail-biter Game 3, which spanned 20 minutes.

Stephen "Sensui" Castillo was notably a ban focus in the three-game series, with AP Bren putting the icing on the cake by picking the surprise Nolan pick he successfully wielded against ECHO.

Momentum was definitely on AP Bren's side as its players are coming off a successful campaign in the 2022 Southeast Asian Games, where it won gold in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Ahead of the season, AP Bren also secured a gold medal in the International Esports Federation world championships

This is Duckeyyy, Phewww, and Flap's second world championship appearance after winning the Philippines' first world title with Bren Esports in Singapore in 2021.