Tag: Esports

UPDATE: ECHO Philippines swept the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang M3 champion Blacklist last Sunday, January 15, to become the M4 Grand Champions at the Tennis Indoor Senayan in Indonesia.

The Orcas bounced back after getting sent by the Codebreakers to the lower bracket during their upper finals matchup earlier on Friday, January 14, with Jonmar “OhMyV33NUS” Villaluna sending a “message” to their opponent.

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s kinda like expected. Because there are a lot of overpowered heroes right now. They also have to watch for Hadji’s Pharsa and Edward’s Benedetta. Maybe… uhh… it’s the reason why they lost once again,” Villaluna concluded after winning the series.

But as ECHO came back from the lower bracket, they took Villaluna’s message to heart and swept Blacklist in a best-of-seven series.

With the prize pool at $800,000, the Orcas had a share of $300,000 or P16 million. Blacklist, on the other hand, as the second placer, will be taking home $120,000 (P6.5 million).

Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno is also the first MLBB player to acquire two titles under two different teams. He first clenched the world title back in 2021 when he was with Bren Esports.

Fredric “BennyQT” Gonzales, in the early minutes of game 1, already had three kills as ECHO pushed Blacklist, particularly in the gold lane. The Codebreakers felt the pressure, and by the 12th minute, the money gap was already at 7,000.

Because of this strategy, the Orcas ended the game in just 15 minutes.

Game 2 also had a similar outcome, with BennyQT leading his team to a 2-0 lead.

Blacklist failed to answer in the last remaining rounds and finally succumbed to the overwhelming power and strategy of ECHO.

The Finals MVP was BennyQT, who received an additional P500,000, becoming the third Filipino to bag the award.

OhMyV33NUS pens a heartwarming message

Following their defeat, the Blacklist captain OhMyV33NUS wrote a message to their OKBET fans and supporters. He put into writing the pain after losing to ECHO four games in a row.

However, as former champions who also had their share of ups and downs, OhMyV33NUS was still grateful for the chance and support they received throughout the tournament.

“Ngayon palang nagsi-sink in yung mga nangyare at itong pakiramdam na ‘to, sobrang pamilyar sakin. Yung feeling na gusto mong umiyak pero wala nang luha na lumalabas. Siguro nga dahil maraming beses na din kaming napunta sa ganitong point, at sa sobrang daming beses, parang manhid na ako.

“Pero despite of all these things, I still feel blessed dahil sa sobrang daming taong sumuporta sa amin, hindi lang sa Pilipinas, pati na din sa buong mundo, lalo yung mga nagpunta dito sa Indonesia at talagang nakipag-beklaban ng malala sa fans ng ibang team. Super thankful ako sa lahat ng mga taong hindi tumigil at patuloy pa rin na nagtitiwala sa mga kakayahan namin. Grace under defeat,” he wrote.

Villaluna then promised they would be back in the next world tournament “stronger than ever,” assuring all their fans that “this is still not the last of us.”

Meanwhile, M5 will be held in the Philippines.

Read: A Déjà vu indeed: ECHO versus Blacklist

There might be a déjà vu in the finals of the popular e-sports game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang—a match between two Filipino teams contending for the world title.

Previously, Blacklist, led by 28-year-old Johnmar “OhMyV33Nus” Villaluna, swept the Allen Jedric “Baloyskie” Baloy-led Onic Philippines, four games to none, and delivered the Philippines’ second world title in two successions.

The back-to-back champion’s head coach, Kristoffer “Bon Chan” Ricaplaza, is hoping it will happen again, this time against Echo Philippines.

During MPL S10 Week 3, the Orcas defeated the reigning champion despite being stunned by the Diggie-Balmond combo. They then met in the finals, where the Codebreakers emerged victorious, 3-0.

“Sana gano’n ulit ‘yung kabagksakan,” Ricaplaza hoped last Sunday. “For example nung M3 na natalo rin kami sa BTK, this time we lost to Falcon and sana doon ulit magtapos na same rematch as MPL Season 10 and hopefully ma-defend ulit namin ‘yung title.”

An All-Filipino Showdown in Finals? It’s Possible!

Accordingly, the dream of Ricaplaza could be possible. Blacklist and Echo have already secured their respective spots in the upper bracket semifinals.

The Codebreakers will be facing RRQ Hoshi. On the other hand, the Orcas are up against Indonesian powerhouse Onic Esports.

Since both Filipino teams have reached the upper bracket, they have a huge chance of appearing in the finals. However, if one loses, one must topple opponents in the lower bracket.

“Compared nung sa M3, which is nalaglag agad kami sa lower bracket and palagay ko hindi naman siya totally disadvantage dahil doon sa pagkalaglag namin sa lower bracket nung M3 ay marami kaming natutunan. ‘Yun nga lang, ayun ‘yung mahabang way para makaabot sa finals and makuha ‘yung title,” recalled Ricaplaza.

But if Blacklist and Echo could defeat RRQ and Onic, they would meet earlier than expected, particularly during the upper bracket finals, and a déjà vu in the finals of Mobile Legends will take place.

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