The Playoffs finally commences in MPL PH, starting off with a serious matchup between Blacklist International and Smart Omega. These teams have stood the test of time having one of the most notable rivalries in professional MLBB history. Now, they are here battling for survival as they begin in the play-ins. Will Blacklist perform with a reinforced code, or will Omega’s playoffs “lason” activate?

Blacklist banned out meta and signature heroes that OMG may use, meanwhile OMG did the same, removing key heroes, especially heroes used by Wise and OhMyV33NUS. Joy was left open, which was drafted by Blacklist, as they sat on the blue side. OMG then responded with meta heroes Valentina and Wanwan. Blacklist remained faithful tho their UBE playstyle, as they picked Faramis accompanied with the Phrase, while OMG drafted Akai, which may be a possible deny pick from Wise. The Barangay then drafted Lapu-Lapu for backline access. On the other hand, Blacklist finally revealed a new pick for Wise, which was the Lancelot, as OMG revealed a new Angela pick for their side.

The Agents drew first blood early on during the first minute onto Mikko and another kill a few seconds after. Blacklist was very aggressive in the early game, however it was Omega who secured the first Turtle. After a slow pace of play, OMG once again took the second Turtle. Despite the Barangay dominating the neutral objectives, the gold was still even between both teams. Upon approaching the first Lord, a messy sequence of skirmishes occurred, wherein OMG initially held the Lord area, however Blacklist stole the Lord care of Wise’s Lancelot. Blacklist then took control of the map pressure, which allowed them to easily zone OMG, leading to secure the next Lord. With an 8,000 gold lead 15 minutes into the game, the Agents took the opportunity to siege into the base turrets of the Barangay. With no more turrets available for OMG, it was Blacklist’s game to lose; all they needed to do was secure the next Lords and be surgical when attempting to siege in their opponent’s base, which was what they have successfully done after taking down the third Lord, allowing them to secure the first match against OMG, 1-0.

With OMG now on the blue side, they were able to secure the Fredrinn as their first pick. Blacklist then responded by picking Yve and Arlott, two exceptional heroes when it comes etc team fights. OMG then drafted the Chou and Keira’s signature Beatrix, while the Agents once again secured the Faramis. It was clear that OMG wanted to go for pick offs, while Blacklist’s composition revolved around area control and damage. On the side of OMG, Fredrinn turned out to be placed on the EXP lane, as they drafted the Lancelot. In response, Blacklist drafted Guinevere, a classic pocket pick from Wise.

OMG once again secure the first turtle, followed by a one-for-one trade from both teams. OMG capitalized that their composition possessed, continuously picking off key players from the side of Blacklist. Although OMG had a 2,000 gold lead approaching the third Turtle of the game, Owl surprisingly stole the objective from their grasp, giving the Agents some room to breathe. However, Wise was found by Mikko, which gave OMG the upper hand in securing the first Lord. At this point, OMG led in terms of turrets, however Blacklist still found opportunities to fight back. Once again, upon approaching the second Lord, Wise was once again picked off during the undesirable time, hence OMG had the advantage in taking the neutral objective. After two Lords, Blacklist still held on with their base turrets, and as it was slowly their turn picking off heroes from the side of OMG, they took charge in taking the next Lord. With this, after a deciding team fight, Blacklist wiped out the entirety of the Barangay, eventually finding their base, and securing the second game, match point in favor of Blacklist.

Learning from the previous game, OMG started to deny key heroes from Blacklist such as the Yve and Faramis. Meanwhile, Blacklist secured Arlott and Akai, two heroes strong in terms of control and objective taking. OMG drafted the Terizla, an off-meta EXP Laner with team fight potential. Blacklist then drafted Brody, followed by the return of Mathilda, one of the Queen’s signature heroes, to give the Agents some early to mid game pressure. Given these compositions, it might be OMG’s game to take if their heroes take it to the late game.

Blacklist started off the game aggressively, drawing first blood onto Raizen, giving a significant advantage for the Agents. Because of this, the first turtle was secured by them, followed by pickoffs onto the members of OMG. It was evident that OMG lack a solid frontline on their side, which was the reason why Blacklist were able to initiate with minimal risk.  At 5 minutes into the game, Blacklist almost had a 3,000 gold lead, with a kill score of 7-0 against OMG. Finally, a few seconds later, Kelra and Stowm were able to find Owl and secure their first kill. Despite this, Blacklist continued to assert dominance onto the Barangay, taking down turrets one-by-one all over the map. With the immense lead, Blacklist secured the first Lord, opening the map even more on their favor. Blacklist’s dominance eventually snowballed, winning all team fights they could find, securing the next Lord, and finally finding the base of the Barangay, leading to a sweep in favor for the side of Blacklist International, 3-0.

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