#PROTECTTHECROWN: BLACKLIST PUNCHES THEIR WAY TO THE FINALS - News - Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League Philippines

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And here we go- the final day of Season 8 is quickly closing out. There is only one team that can rise up to take the final seat in the Grand Finals, right after ONIC Philippines won in a sweep yesterday in the Upper Bracket. But this time, the two finalists from Season 7 will have to find their strides as so much is on the line: Tournament Elimination, An MPL-PH Season 8 Grand Finals Seat, and an M3 World Championship Representation.

The differences are- One, Oheb is finally back after a short absence that seemed to be a very long time for the Agents; and Two, this is finally an offline event with a change in the scenery from the boot camps they're used to.

The contest started in the draft for Game 1 as Rafaela was a priority for both of the teams. But this time, Blacklist secured it for themselves together with a familiar Chou and Alice that will be going to Hadji and Oheb respectively. To answer, Yve was a priority pick to be utilized by E2Max as Omega continues to build up with an X-Borg and Aldous for a well-rounded lineup to bring it in.

BLCK went to this game with a Barats in the jungle role, and a Natan for Raizen and OMG. Wise secured all three turtle objectives but the call from Omega's El Kapitan was to mirror the side pushes and take the same turrets The Queen and his royal subjects were denying from them. Even so, the call-time for both Natan and Aldous was restricting OMG from pushing on teamfights. Upping the tempo was Blacklist, knowing that there is no time but the earliest to finish the game. One team-fight in the bottom lane ended the first round as the KDA Machine Hadji paved the way for the men in black.

The second frame enters as BLCK has the priority pick- giving OhMyV33nus the go-signal for the Mathilda Airlines to to open-up shop. Oheb sticks with his bread-and-butter hero in Alice and Hadji shows more of his versatility- locking in the Yve. YSS and Barats wrap it up for BLCK. On the other hand, a surprise Kadita pick for E2Max as Coach P4kb41Ts (Pakbet) drew one from his pocket of tricks. A tested-and-proven Claude goes to Kelra, an Esmeralda, Chou, and a Balmond jungle is the lineup for OMG.

A very passive start for both of the teams, but you really have to commend Renzio with the buy-time in the top lane after Blacklist juggled four heroes in the turtle skirmish to bring the tides back to their favor. Even so, Raizen to the occasion it is, stealing the second turtle buff from their opponents with the Lethal Counter to disrupt them from their momentum.

But the fight came to Omega too early, and the quick Lord take in the 11th minute of the match immediately transitioned to Blacklist going up 2-0. An 80% kill participation made OhMyV33nus's Mathilda the MVP of the Match.

With everything on the line, Omega needs to figure something out before it's too late. They have been in this situation before in Season 7- where they have to crawl their way back to the finals months ago. If there is someone who had that grit-and-grind factor, it's them. But this poses the biggest challenge, as Omega used the same lineup Blacklist is usually using. An Estes for The Ch4kMamba, Alice for Kelra, Aldous for Raizen, Phoveus for E2Max and the classic Barats for the veteran Renzio. Their opponents? A Natan, YSS, Chou, Paquito, Popol and Kupa to fight them with another lineup they usually execute.

OMG is pulling ahead with their advantage in team-fights, giving the defending champions a taste of their own medicine. An Ultimate Bonding Experience, the famous UBE strategy has been used against their creators. It's very unusual for us to see Ch4knu with heroes that don't usually have the playmaking sets, but have the timing of the heals from his Estes that was very beneficial to the shift in momentum to him and his teammates. Aside from that, the continuous Demonic Force from E2Max to distract the agents from the biggest surprise of them all- Kelra rising from the ashes with the Alice to go clean-up mode, keeping them on the run in this series.

With Omega riding their momentum from last game, it is now up to BLCK to stop the bleeding. They've started off the fourth chapter with an interesting priority pick on Chou. But the gain goes to Omega in the first phase of the draft, locking in the Alice, Barats, and Paquito for their own gain. The META picks arrived as Omega wants to extend One Shot to two, while Blacklist wants to finish this off as soon as they can.

Omega, together with E2Max's utilization of Selena created a space for them to gain the early-game lead. The mid-lane trio is truly disruptive in the first 6 minutes of the game, allowing Raizen to get one objective after another. Wise still tried to convert in the early stages- being the only ray of light for BLCK in the early game. That light slowly started to shine brighter as a systematic teamfight reeled the game back in to the Agents after being down an inhibitor turret.

A pick-off on Kelra and Ch4knu in the bottom secured BLCK of the Luminous Lord pushing forward and penetrating through OMG's defenses and deleting their hopes of a Grand Final return. Blacklist International secures their seat in the Grand Finals to Defend the Crown against a new challenger.

"Actually, I'm super happy nung nakapasok ng Finals- nung natalo nila yung Omega. Kasi ever since pa lang mag-start yung season: Week 1, Week 2, alam naman natin kung gaano sila nag-dominate. Alam ko na agad na it's really ONIC Time! Sila ang nakakakilala paano ako mag-laro, sa mga LAN Events. Sila yon." - OhMyV33nus on their matchup against ONIC Philippines

GAME 1: BLCK WIN 16-5 (13:31)