Blacklist International to represent the Philippines in SEA Games MLBB event

Reigning Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) world champions Blacklist International will be the Philippines' representative for MLBB at the 2022 Southeast Asian Games esports event after they emerged victorious at the selection competition for Team Sibol, the Philippine national esports team.

Blacklist International beat out eight other top Filipino MLBB teams to earn the right to represent their country at the SEA Games, capping off their run with a 4-1 victory over Nexplay EVOS in the best-of-seven grand finals on Sunday (30 January).

The M3 world champions notably competed without key players Kiel "OHEB" Soriano and Edward "EDWARD" Jay Dapadap, who were barred from participating due to the 2022 SEA Games' age requirement of 18.

Howard "Owl" Gonzales and Kyle Dominic "Dominic" Sotto stood in for OHEB and EDWARD, performing admirably alongside team stalwarts Salic "Hadji" Alauya Imam, Dexstar "Dex Star" Louise Cruz Alaba, Danerie James "Wise" Del Rosario, and Johnmar "OhMyV33nus" Villaluna.

Despite announcing a break from competitive play and skipping Season 9 of the MLBB Pro League Philippines earlier this month, OhMyV33nus and Wise notably remained with Blacklist International to compete for a spot with Team Sibol and represent the Philippines at the SEA Games.

The M3 world champions began their campaign with a 2-1 victory over Bren Esports in the best-of-three quarterfinals. Blacklist International then scored back-to-back 3-0 sweeps over Nexplay EVOS and RSG Philippines in the next two rounds to become the first team in the grand finals.

After getting knocked down to the tournament's lower bracket, Nexplay EVOS defeated Omega Esports, ONIC Philippines, and RSG Philippines to force a rematch with Blacklist International in the grand finals.

Blacklist International looked dominant as they began the finals with two-straight wins before Nexplay EVOS managed to take game three. However, the M3 world champions could not be denied as they blitzed through games four and five to take the 4-1 series victory and earn the right to represent the Philippines at the SEA Games.

The 2022 SEA Games will be hosted by Vietnam and will be held from 12 to 23 May.

Aside from MLBB, other esports titles to be played in the event include League of Legends, League of Legends: Wild Rift, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) Mobile, Free Fire, Arena of Valor, CrossFire, and FIFA Online 4.

The 2022 SEA Games will also mark the second time that there will be an esports medal event in the regional sporting competition, with the inaugural esports medal event being held in the 2019 SEA Games in the Philippines.

The Philippines won the most medals from the inaugural esports medal event with five, including three gold medals for Dota 2, StarCraft II, and MLBB, as well as silver and bronze medals for Tekken 7.

For more esports news updates, visit https://yhoo.it/YahooEsportsSEA and check out Yahoo Esports Southeast Asia’s Facebook page and Twitter, as well as our Gaming channel on YouTube.