Blacklist International deprives Team SMG of upset, stays unbeaten in M5 group stages

QUEZON CITY, Philippines – Blacklist International remained hot after evading a potential upset from Malaysia's Team SMG, 2-1, in their best-of-three group stage clash in the M5 World Championship at the EVM Convention Center here on Monday, December 4.

The Codebreakers improved to a 2-0 win-loss slate in Group B and only need Turkey's Fire Flux Esports to beat Brazil's RRQ Akira to secure their spot in the playoff round.

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M-series rookie Kenneth "Yue" Tadeo led the Tier One-backed squad with Most Valuable Player (MVP) performances in Games One and Three, with 90 percent kill participation in both matches.

The Mobile Legends Professional League (MPL) Philippines Season 11 Rookie of the Year and Blacklist take a two-day break before facing Fire Flux in their last assignment on Thursday, December 7.

The three-time MPL Philippines winner started the decider slow but found their way back to end SMG's gallant stand.

Bucking off their sluggish start, the Codebreakers began their fierce fightback by neutralizing Lu "Sasa" Khai Bean and Aeliff Adam "Smooth" Md Ariff, which gave them better control of map objectives.

Yue's Faramis dominated the rubber match with two kills and seven assists on top of a single death for the MVP plum and Blacklist's 10-4 win after 17 minutes.

Renejay "Renejay" Barcase added nine assists and a kill with Mathilda without falling once, while Kiel "Oheb" Soriano's Wanwan also had a flawless 2/0/5 KDA for the Codebreakers.

On SMG's camps, Sasa didn't register a kill with Claude for a 0/3/0 stint in the deciding match.

Blacklist coach Aniel "Master the Basics" Jiandani said the decider was close, with both sides drafting their comfortable picks.

Yet, his side's execution worked wonders for them.

"I think yung draft is match lang," Master the Basics told. "Meron silang mga dala, meron kaming mga dala."

"Maganda naman yung naging execution nila nung early game nung third game. Sadyang nakabawi lang kami nung pangalawang turtle fight. After nun, dun na lang nagsunod-sunod. Tingin ko mas maganda lang talaga yung naging execution namin. Hindi lang talaga siya sa draft," he added.

With Yue bossing the mid lane in Game One, the Codebreakers finished SMG in 16 minutes by a 10-5 kill scoreline.

Involved in 90% of the kills scored, Yue's Lylia got his first MVP nod behind a perfect 2/0/7 KDA. Stephen "Sensui" Castillo's Fredrinn jungle also shone bright with four kills while slaying all major objectives, including two lords. Renejay's Tigreal, on the other hand, dished six assists to make up for his zero kills and two deaths.

Game Two saw SMG's resurgence, with Smooth's Benedetta collecting three kills in the early game, which was enough to give them cushion en route to knot the Bo3 series in just 11 minutes. The experience (EXP) laner earned the MVP citation thanks to his four kills and two assists with one death only.

Hazziq Danish "Stormie" Bin Mohamad Rizwan (Lylia) contributed 2/0/6, while Sasa's Bruno provided four kills and an assist for the Wild Card qualifier.