MPL PH Season 12: Blacklist ends losing streak to ECHO, secures upper bracket finals seat

The slump against defending champion ECHO finally came to an end for Blacklist International.

Blacklist snapped their six-game losing skid against ECHO, 3-1, to secure an upper bracket finals berth in the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League (MPL) Philippines Season 12 on Thursday, October 26, at the EVM Convention Center in Quezon City.

The last time the Agents beat the Orcas was in the UB finals of the M4 World Championships on January 13, 2023.

Assured of a top-three finish, Blacklist inches closer to one of the two M5 slots allotted for the Philippines, while ECHO dropped to the lower bracket after falling to their fourth consecutive match since Week 5.

Kiel "Oheb" Soriano's Bruno led the way for the M3 winner in the fourth and final game after posting five kills and five assists on top of two deaths, while Renejay "Renejay" Barcase's Novaria had a flawless performance of 2/0/8 kill/death/assist (KDA).

Karl "KarlTzy" Nepomuceno's Baxia got more turtle and lord takes, but that wasn't enough to force a Game Five as the Rafaela-Faramis combination failed to turn the tides in favor of ECHO, succumbing to a 12-9 beatdown.

Kenneth "Yue" Tadeo, the MPL Season 11 Rookie of the Year, churned out 11 kills and six assists while dying twice with his Valentina for Blacklist to draw first blood in Game One.

Dishing 18 assists with just one death, Renejay's Diggie proved to be ECHO's thorn in the throat as their crowd control-laden lineup couldn't do their thing. Benedict "Bennyqt" Gonzales' Claude and Alston "Sanji" Pabico's Faramis, as Blacklist's primary targets, accounted for 10 of the losing side's 21 deaths.

ECHO leveled with a dominant display in Game Two. The Orcas dominated the second game, 17-4, within 14 minutes behind the four kills and five assists of Sanford "SanFord" Vinuya's Edith while Alston "Sanji" Pabico's Kadita delivered a 6/1/9 line.

Blacklist, in fact, had the upper hand in the early game with a Yue maniac but lost control as Oheb's Wanwan struggled after a kill or assist-less stint and going down thrice.

A decisive clash in the lord pit during the latter stretch of Game Three fired the Codebreakers ahead, 2-1, with Blacklist capitalizing on ECHO players' low hit points (HP).

Stephen "Sensui" Castillo mustered eight kills and 11 assists as his surprise Nolan pick did much of the damage, while Oheb's Bruno contributed six kills and seven assists.

Bennyqt's Irithel tallied six kills and six assists in a losing effort for the Orcas.
Oheb was named the series' Most Valuable Player.

"Sobrang sigaw kami nang sigaw kanina. Nakaka-overwhelm na natalo namin ang ECHO, one step closer na sa M-series," the Filipino Sniper said in a press conference.

Blacklist awaits the victor between RSG Philippines and AP Bren in the UB final.