Fire Flux Esports shocks Blacklist International, ends M5 group stages as Group B winner

Fire Flux Esports scored the biggest upset of the M5 World Championship so far.

And they did it against Blacklist International in a dominating fashion.

The defending two-time MTC Turkiye Championship winner took the Group B top spot after dismantling the MPL Philippines Season 12 runner-up, 2-0, in their best-of-three showdown at the EVM Convention Center in Quezon City on Thursday, December 7.

Both sides had an identical 2-1 record, but the all-Turkish team held the head-to-head tiebreaker after beating one of the host country's two squads.

It was a sweet payback for Fire Flux that had the Veewise-powered Codebreakers tormented in the past.

In the M4 group stages, the Tier One-backed squad beat Incendio Supremacy, with most of its players now suiting up for FIMP. The two met anew in the Mobile Legends Southeast Asia Cup (MSC) 2023 and Blacklist remained too much for the formerly called Fire Flux Impunity in their best-of-five quarterfinals, as the latter got swept.

READ: Dominant Blacklist International advances to MSC 2023 semifinals at Fire Flux Impunity's expense

Ahmet Taha "Rosa" Batir and Furkan "Apex47" became BLCK's kryptonite in both matches, as they neutralized Blacklist's damage dealers, especially jungler Stephen "Sensui" Castillo.

From start to finish, Fire Flux simply owned the series opener.

FIMP caught Blacklist off guard. Set by Apex47's Implosion ultimate with Tigreal, the visitors emerged victorious in the first turtle fight that ignited a fiery 7-0 start and earned the Turkish champ a 6.5K gold advantage.

The Turkish squad fired on all cylinders in Game 1, catching the home team off guard with a pocket Leomord pick and denying Blacklist of any major resources, piling up a 9,200 gold lead to close out the salvo.

Blacklist rose to the occasion, but another successful Implosion by Apex47 in the 13th-minute lord fight allowed them to complete the rout, 14-5 in kills.

Rosa's Lylia shone the brightest in Game One with an almost perfect 5/1/9 KDA. Sidar "Tienzy" Menteşe served as match X-Factor, denying Sensui of crucial objectives, behind a performance of five kills and eight assists without falling once. For his part, Apex47 garnered seven assists on top of a kill and a death.

Kiel "Oheb" Soriano's Bruno spearheaded a potential comeback down the stretch in Game Two, but a retribution play by Tienzy's Guinevere during the fifth lord dance ultimately enabled Fire Flux to score a rare sweep over the M3 winner.

Rosa starred once again in FIMP's Game Two clutch victory. The 18-year-old mid laner won the MVP plum with a 5-2-6 line while using Valentina.

Sensui (Nolan) still struggled with Apex47's disruptions in the jungle, as the latter drafted and wielded Hilda. He tallied three kills, seven assists, and two deaths.

Emre "Sunshine" Sari contributed three kills and six assists while just getting slain once.

Despite the defeat, Blacklist will join Fire Flux Esports in the KO stage but comes in handy as the Codebreakers must deal with Indonesian giant ONIC Esports on the opening day of the playoffs. ONIC is the defending three-peat MPL Indonesia champion and current MSC titlist.

Bannered by jungler Kairi "Kairi" Rayosdelsol and coach Denver "Yeb" Miranda, the Yellow Hedgehogs clinched Group A leadership without conceding a game.

The two powerhouses collide on Saturday, December 9, in the same venue in QC at 6 p.m. after the clash of Group B winner Fire Flux and surprise package Deus Vult, Group D second place, at 2 p.m. Both matches are best-of-five,