esports

Randrup looks to lead Blacklist Rivalry to Dota tourney glory

Juro Morilla

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Randrup looks to lead Blacklist Rivalry to Dota tourney glory

DEBUT. Blacklist Rivalry players (from left) Timothy Randrup, Marc Fausto, Karl Baldovino, Nico Barcelo, Carlo Palad, and manager Doms.

JURO MORILLA/RAPPLER

Newly formed Blacklist Rivalry will see action in the Dota Pro Circuit starting this December

MANILA, Philippines – A new all-Filipino team will compete in the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) 2022-2023 season as Blacklist Rivalry secured a spot in the professional 5-on-5 esports tournament.

Team captain Timothy “Tims” Randrup, who recently played for the BOOM Esports organization, leads the squad composed of players who have all experienced competing in multiple Dota 2 tournaments.

“I will motivate them outside the game, before the in-game, like talk to them everyday… about ideas, what I think about the game, so we can jell,” said the 25-year-old Randrup. 

Karl “Karl” Baldovino, Nico “eeyou” Barcelon, Marc Polo “Raven” Fausto, and Carlo “Kuku” Palad complete the five-man roster of the team built on the partnership of Blacklist International and Rivalry.

The  tournament kicks off on December 11 where Blacklist Rivalry will compete against international teams like BOOM Esports, Execration, Lilgun, and Fnatic. 

Despite coming from different teams, Randrup thinks building chemistry will be quick.

“I would say, it will not take so much time because we already know each other, like the four of us, except for Karl,” said Randrup.

“Karl is a really good guy and a good player also so I don’t think we will need so much time to adjust, it’s gonna be a short time.”

Aside from assembling a new team, Blacklist International and Rivalry also shared they want to support the players “holistically.”

“When we decided to create Blacklist Rivalry with Tier One, we wanted to put together a team that was not only capable of winning, but act as a beacon of hope that the Filipino epsports community could rally behind,” said Althea Cunanan, the country manager of Rivalry, a Canadian esports media and entertainment company.

Cunanan said the partnership with Blacklist International, a Southeast Asian esports organization under Tier One Entertainment, will allow them to “capture all the moments” of the players’ journey and share them to fans. 

“One really important thing here is that, beyond telling the incredible stories of these players and of the team, we’ll be here to support the team holistically and ensure that they are well-equipped for a championship caliber success,” said Cunanan. 

Tier One Entertainment co-founder and CEO Tryke Gutierrez added that “putting up a team that’s formidable of competing against the world” took a long process, but he was just glad how things unfolded.

“I know that a lot of people are really waiting for this team to compete, and me too, I’m super, super excited on what they can build because I truly believe in the Filipino talent when it comes to Dota 2,” he said.

“We’ve seen it in years, we’ve always been top three in terms of the number of players in The International, but we haven’t seen a full-stock Filipino team like this.” – Rappler.com

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