Blacklist International ended their regular season campaign on a high note and will be joining AP.Bren, ECHO, RSG, ONIC PH, and Minana EVOS in the playoffs of MPL Philippines Season 13.
But before we head to the postseason, let’s take a look back at how the final week
of regular season action wrapped up.
Day 1: ONIC sweep, RSG beats Minana
ONIC returned to the winning column after defeating TNC Pro Team via sweep on Friday at Shooting Galleries Studio in Makati City.
In game one, ONIC displayed mastery of discipline, not conceding any deaths against TNC.
Frince "Super Frince" Ramirez’s pesky Kadita was hailed as the MVP with 3-0-8 KDA and perfect kill participation.
With the recent patch note updates, King Cyric “K1NGKONG” Perez returned the assassin jungler Ling back to the scene.
His aggressive Ling earned the MVP badge in the second game with 3-0-6 KDA.
RSG started the seventh week strong after outlasting the Minana EVOS in a best-of-three match up.
In game one, RSG dominated Minana with a lopsided 14-6 kill score.
Jonard "Demonkite" Caranto’s perfect execution on Baxia with a 3-0-9 KDA was awarded the MVP title.
Meanwhile, Minana bounced back in game two, refusing to be swept in their match against RSG.
MINANA stayed composed in the grueling 28-minute game and pulled through despite RSG’s massive eight-thousand gold lead.
Veteran Jeniel "YellyHaze" Bata-Anon on Faramis lifted the White Tigers with a 3-3-9 KDA and perfect kill participation.
In game three, the Raiders’ quick work suppressed the growl of the White Tigers.
Dylan "Light" Catipon on roamer Arlott led the charge with a 1-1-9 KDA.
Day 2: Blacklist reverse sweep, TNC and AP.Bren score wins
Blacklist International mounted a reverse sweep against ECHO, claiming the last playoff spot.
In Saturday’s opener, the Orcas had massive objectives and map control against the Codebreakers.
During the 16-minute period of lord contention, ECHO saw the window of opportunity for a rundown when the Blacklist members’ health were running low.
The Orcas took game one as Frederic "Bennyqt" Gonzales’ Roger pounced to deliver a game-winning savage kill streak.
Bennyqt earned the MVP title with an 8-1-2 KDA.
Pushed to the brink, Blacklist regrouped in game two to commence the upset against ECHO.
Kiel “Oheb” Soriano on Natan showcased the gold standards of a gold laner after scoring a maniac kill streak during the 10-minute lord fight.
Oheb clinched the match’s MVP award with a 9-2-4 KDA.
The momentum was then on Blacklist's side in the third game.
In the last clash, Edward “Edward” Dapadap on Benedetta denied Alston "Sanji" Pabico’s Yve recall back to the base, leaving only two Orcas left to fend off the Codebreakers’ siege.
Kenneth “Yue” Tadeo clinched the MVP citation on Faramis with a 4-2-15 KDA.
Blacklist officially completed the MPL Season 13 playoff picture.
On the other hand, TNC capped their regular season on a good note via sweep of Smart Omega.
Jiro "Nomed" Pineda was a reliable force for TNC, as he earned back-to-back MVP titles with a 5-3-5 and 7-0-2 KDA, respectively, on Harith.
Up next, AP.Bren got sweet revenge against ONIC and became the first team to secure an upper bracket berth.
In game one, AP.Bren came prepared with ONIC’s Ling pick, drafting Mathilda to level the playing field in terms of mobility.
Rowgien “Owgwen” Unigo got the MVP badge on Mathilda with a 2-1-6 KDA and 100% kill participation.
In game two, AP.Bren dominated ONIC with a flawless 12-0 kill score, courtesy of Michael "KyleTzy" Sayson on Fredrinn, who led the Hive with a perfect 4-0-7 KDA.
Day 3: Minana, AP.Bren, Blacklist in best-of-three matches
Minana kicked off the last day of the regular season with a loud growl against Smart Omega.
In game one, gold laner Jomari “Jowm” Pingol on Claude gunned a triple kill streak during the nine-minute mark to seal the first win of the match.
Andrew “Andoryuuu” Flora on Guinevere exhibited a commendable performance on jungler Guinevere with a 2-1-10 KDA.
In game two, Omega had early game dominance and a huge gold lead, but couldn’t capitalize.
Minana trimmed the gap when Oscar “Sumpak” Romero on Roger scored a double kill during the inhibitor defense against Omega.
John "Perkz" Sumawan’s sneaky Chou with a 0-3-11 KDA helped the Minana tie the series.
In game three, Minana survived a thrilling 29-minute battle against Omega as they secured the last lord objective.
Jann “Kirk” Gutierrez on the Barats with a 2-1-14 KDA was the White Tigers’ helping hand to conclude their regular-season run with a 6-8 record.
Up next, the reigning M5 Champions AP.Bren finished atop the regular season standings with 35 points, stunning ECHO with a 2-1 victory.
AP.Bren had the upper hand in the entirety of game one, amassing a gold lead of more than 11,000 and not conceding any deaths until the 12-minute mark.
Marco “Super Marco” Requitiano’s slippery Harith was the MVP with a 3-0-1 KDA.
In game two, ECHO quickly got back on their feet with an aggressive lineup as a response to AP.Bren’s Ling assassin.
Karl “KarlTzy” Nepomuceno showcased a masterclass on jungler Martis with a 5-0-3 KDA, tying the series at one win apiece.
ECHO staged a tough defense against AP.Bren in the third game, but the moment of truth arrived during the 25-minute lord fight, where Owgwen stole the lord objective and the Hive ran down four Orcas.
Owgwen’s game-winning lord steal on Edith with a 6-2-10 KDA helped him earn the MVP citation.
ECHO secured the no. 2 seed with 30 points.
As an encore, Blacklist International put on another spectacle with a reverse sweep against RSG.
In game one, the Raiders got the groove, and the five-man wipeout against the Codebreakers in the last minute sealed their victory.
Demonkite on Barats shined bright with a 4-1-10 KDA.
It was a different storyline in game two as Blacklist snowballed against RSG.
During the 19-minute clash, Salik “Hadji” Imam’s Minotaur hammered it down to lead the Codebreaks to a 5-man wipeout against RSG.
Hadji earned the MVP title on Minotaur with a 1-2-14 KDA and perfect kill participation.
Lastly, Kiel “Oheb” Soriano displayed his proficiency on Natan when he staved off an ambush attempt from RSG during the 18th minute.
Even without the lord, Blacklist pushed through to stun RSG with a reverse sweep.
Blacklist International improved their points tally to 22 points and moved to the fifth spot of the standings, just ahead of Minana with 21 points.
Despite their loss, RSG clinched the no. 3 seed for the playoffs.
The MPL Philippines Season 13 playoffs are scheduled from May 22 to May 26 at SM Southmall in Las Pinas City.