Blacklist Dota 2 celebrates after win in ESL One Kuala Lumpur qualifiers. Photo by Carlo Manalo/Facebook
(UPDATED) Blacklist will represent the Philippines and Southeast Asia in ESL One Kuala Lumpur, a $1-million Dota 2 tournament in Malaysia, after outclassing fellow Pinoy squad Geek Fam, 3-1, in the best-of-five finals of the closed qualifiers on Saturday.
The journey was not easy for Blacklist, as they initially lost in their debut match in the ESL One Kuala Lumpur open qualifiers round 1 against a relatively unknown squad from Mongolia named UB Warrior.
They had another chance to prove themselves in round 2, where they defeated all rivals, including Myanmar-based Yangon Galacticos in the finals.
The closed qualifiers were a bloodbath, as they faced seven other teams with Filipino professional players on their rosters.
It was actually Geek Fam who beat them in the upper bracket final, 2-1. Before entering the finals, the "agents" won their lower bracket final matchup against Talon Esports, 2-1.
In the overall finals, Geek Fam snagged a lopsided victory in Game 1, where they dealt a 19-1 kill score beating to Blacklist.
However, the next three games were different stories, as Blacklist rode on Marc Polo Luis "Raven" Fausto's and Abed "Abed" Yusop's backs to seal the deal.
Raven had a dominating game on his Bloodseeker in Game 2, where he tallied a game-best 15-2-14 net worth. Abed dealt the most damage to opponents in Game 3 with 42. k damage, as expected on his Lina.
In the third frame, Blacklist had a 5k net worth lead at the 25-minute mark, but they immediately pumped it up to 11k in just three minutes by taking towers and the Roshan.
Crucial for the high ground defense, Mc Nicholson "Mac" Villanueva's Necrophos was killed as Blacklist marched into their rival's base, killing two more of Geek Fam's heroes and eventually into a 2-1 separation in the series.
In the clinching match, Blacklist won a near-Roshan pit clash, which led into the killing of 3 of Geek Fam's heroes. This allowed Raven's Naga Siren to siege high ground.
The Aegis of the Immortal was more of an assurance for the black-and-white jerseys, as they took down the base of their enemies.
The Abed Ember Spirit had an impressive 10-1-17 performance, which also paved the way to snatch the coveted slot, but it was Raven who did the pushing for Blacklist.
Players could not hide their excitement as they shared celebratory posts on social media.
Abed also said that they are now looking for a coach, leading towards the anticipated tournament.
Relive the games here.
ROSTERS:
BLACKLIST INTERNATIONAL
- Marc Polo Luis "Raven" Fausto
- Abed "Abed" Yusop
- Kim Villafuerte "Gabbi" Santos
- Timothy "TIMS" Randrup
- Juan Carlo "Carlo" Chua Manalo
GEEK FAM
- John Anthony "Natsumi" Vargas
- Mc Nicholson "Mac" Villanueva
- Joshua "Kokz" Maraño
- John Rey Yee "Jing" Duyan
- Rolen Andrei Gabriel "skem" Ong