Blacklist Rivalry defeats Execration to reign in APAC Predator League 2024

Blacklist Rivalry ruled the Defense of the Ancients (DOTA) 2 tournament of the Asia-Pacific Predator League after sweeping fellow Filipino squad Execration, 2-0, in their best-of-three finals series at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on Sunday, January 14.

By defeating Execration, Blacklist completed a six-game unbeaten run to bag the top prize of 65,000 dollars or 3,630,900 pesos in the current foreign exchange.

Abed 'Abed" Yusop and Marc Polo Luis "Raven" Fausto are the talismans for Blacklist in Game One by putting up impressive performances to edge a gritty Execration side but it was Timothy "TIMS" Randrup who earned the Most Valuable Player (MVP) plum.

Abed's Dragon Knight listed 12 kills and 17 assists on top of three deaths, Raven's Alchemist went to finish the series opener flawlessly with an 8/0/15 KDA, and TIMS' Shadow Demon amassed 22 assists and eight kills while dying twice for Blacklist's dominant 36-16 victory.

With Blacklist amassing a massive gold lead and Raven securing the Aegis of the Immortal from slaying Roshan, the Tier One Entertainment-backed squad was seemingly on their way to an easy win.

However, their aggression at the 29-minute mark made them pay after three Blacklist heroes fell in a team clash when Raven tried to siege the towers at the bottom, giving Execration a lifeline to turn the table around.

Trying to wrap things up by getting another Aegis at hand, TIMS, Raven, and Abed succeeded in pushing the bottom side to ensure that a late-game reversal won't happen after 42 minutes and 17 seconds of action.

In the second and last game, Kim "Gabbi" Santos got the MVP honors with his unkillable use of Naga Siren, listing four kills and 13 assists without falling once.

Gabbi, alongside another carry in Raven's classic Luna pick, proved potent enough for Execration to deal with.

Despite their efforts to make Game Two closer, Execration still succumbed to a lopsided scoreline anew, 25-13 in kills.

The turning point came around 31 minutes in a Roshan fight that saw Blacklist down three Execration players. Gabbi even shared a bro moment with Execration's Mark "Bob" Urbina on that skirmish, telling him in the in-game all-chat that "wag ka ma-pressure".

Seizing momentum from that point, Blacklist walloped their foe for the organization's first DOTA 2 title in 2024.

Execration, meanwhile, settled for a runner-up finish in the 10-team tourney to claim $20,000. For the second time, they finished as bridesmaid after losing to Polaris Esports in the 2022 edition.