MANILA, Philippines – Blacklist International sent Indonesian powerhouse Onic Esports packing out of the Mobile Legends M3 World Championships in Singapore to advance further in the lower bracket on Tuesday, December 14.

Dragged to a rubber match, Blacklist methodically ripped Onic apart in the final game of their best-of-three series to notch a 2-1 win and keep its world title aspirations alive.

Kiel “Oheb” Soriano (Beatrix) showed the way for Blacklist in the do-or-die game, accounting for 5 of their 7 kills in a low-scoring affair that saw the Filipinos prioritize objectives instead of team fights.

With Salic “Hadji” Imam (Pharsa) creating space for Blacklist with the Feathered Air Strike, the reigning two-time Mobile Legends Professional League (MPL) Philippines champions slowly but surely destroyed Onic Esports’ turrets one after the other.

By the time the game entered the 12-minute mark, Onic had only its base turret standing and Blacklist enjoyed a 10,000-gold advantage.

Oheb then went berserk with 3 straight kills on Adriand “Drian” Larsen Wong (Cecilion), Muhammad Satrya “Butsss” Sanubari (Hylos), and Gilang “SANZ” (Lancelot) during the final push as Blacklist closed out the series within the next two minutes.

Danerie James “Wise” del Rosario (Barats) tallied 1 kill and 6 assists against 0 deaths for Blacklist, while Johnmar “OhMyV33nus” Villaluna (Mathilda) delivered 5 assists against 0 deaths.

Considered one of the title favorites in the M3 World Championships, Onic suffered an unprecedented early exit as Blacklist exacted revenge on the Indonesian giant following its finals loss in the MPL Invitational last November.

Blacklist looks to reassert its mastery over Brazilian squad Vivo Keyd, which the Filipinos beat in the group stage, when they meet in the lower bracket on Wednesday, December 15.

Meanwhile, fellow Filipino team Onic Philippines shoots for a coveted spot in the upper bracket finals as it tangles with Indonesian team RRQ Hoshi on Wednesday. – Rappler.com