Blacklist International barges on MSC 2023 grand finals, silences Cambodia's Burn X Flash

Blacklist International advanced to the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Southeast Asia Cup (MSC) 2023 after dousing Burn X Flash, 3-1, in their best-of-five semifinal match here at AEON Mall Mean Chey on Saturday, June 17.

This marked the second MSC finals appearance of the Codebreakers after reaching the same stage in 2021 but lost the crown to fellow Philippine representative Execration.

Getting their second shot at the elusive MSC tilt, Blacklist will take on the winner of the ECHO-ONIC Esports semifinal clash in the grand finale set on Sunday, June 18, at 7 p.m.

The MSC title remains the last missing silverware in Blacklist's trophy collection, boasting three Mobile Legends Professional League (MPL) Philippines chips and the M3 World Championship tilt already.

Roamer Jonmar "OhMyV33Nus" Villaluna led the way for Blacklist in Game One against adversity. OhMyV33Nus played with a surprise pick in Novaria with her comfort heroes – Estes, Diggie, and Faramis – banned. The Queen's gamble paid off after dropping six kills and nine assists on top of two deaths.

Blacklist secured the series opener behind the 2-on-5 defense of OhMyV33Nus and Kenneth "Yue" Tadeo in their base en route to an 18-12 victory.

In front of their passionate crowd, Burn X Flash evened the series in Game Two with a statement win.

Blacklist had the advantage in the early game, but the Cambodian bet got the last laugh in the endgame. Burn X Flash weathered a potential comeback to take the 22-minute triumph, 16-9 in kills.

With his signature pick Lesley, Filipino gold laner Mariusz "Donut" Tan dealt the final blows for Burn X Flash in the game-clinching clash. Using the Ultimate Snipe skill, Donut revealed Blacklist's positioning near the lord pit. This allowed him to score a triple kill that ultimately steered the home bet to conquer Game Two.

Donut had a herculean effort of 11 kills and three assists with two deaths only.

Disappointed but undeterred, Edward "Edward" Dapadap took Blacklist's Game Two defeat personally. Behind a 6/1/5 kill-death-assist (KDA) performance, Edward vented his ire against Burn X Flash in Game Three while playing as Joy.

Yue added eight kills and five assists with zero death for the Filipino side to beat Burn X Flash after 19 minutes, scoring a 17-7 kill spread.

In Game Four, Blacklist got the job done with OhMyV33Nus leading the way. She earned the game Most Valuable Player (MVP) nod with her flawless Novaria execution, listing five assists and one kill without dying once.

On their Facebook page, Blacklist showed their appreciation for the determined and hard-fighting Burn X Flash team.