Blacklist International played with nerves of steel as it turned back RRQ Hoshi, 2-1, to punch the first ticket to the ONE Esports: MPL Invitational Grand Finals on Sunday, November 7.

Things were looking bleak for the Filipino champions after RRQ threatened to finally decode the Blacklist code with crucial pickoffs on Salic “Hadji” Imam’s Chou and Edward “Edward” Dapadap’s Esmeralada in the final moments of the deciding Game 3.

However, the trio of Jonmar “OhmyV33nus” Villaluna on the Rafaela, Kiel “Oheb” Soriano on the Clint and Danerie “Wise” Del Rosario on the Bane had other plans in mind as they sneaked in and secured a crucial Luminous Lord against four players from RRQ.

The Indonesians tried to punish the Filipinos but the damage from Wise’s Bane and Oheb’s Clint swiftly took down the four RRQ players to eliminate the Indonesian powerhouse in the tournament and seal a spot in the Finals.

Oheb shone on his surprise gold lane Clint pick with an impeccable 9-0-4 showing while Wise and OhmyV33nus provided an all-game long presence with 6-3-6 and 2-2-14 KDAs.

It was the Filipinos who drew first blood in the series after Blacklist put RRQ on a clinic in Game 1.

The Filipinos easily cruised to a 14-4 victory in 17 minutes of play. Hadji’s two early kills on his Kagura, one against RRQ’s jungler Albert Neilsen “Alberttt” Iskandar’s Lancelot on the top lane set the tone for the rout.

Blacklist just went on full throttle from that point as it suffocated RRQ’s map to have free reigns in the jungle and the major objectives, including three turtle and two Lord takes.

Edward on his Paquito who finished with a 3-0-9 KDA, wreaked havoc on RRQ’s backlines, taking crucial pick offs in the late game, none bigger than the last one against Alberttt’s Lancelot that allowed Blacklist to take the free Luminous Lord to end Game 1.

RRQ retaliated in Game 2 as its double-marksman setup worked wonders for the Indonesians. Firm Priest “Psycho” Firdaus’ Yve and Rivaldi “R7” Fatahon’s Esmeralda held the early game for the MPL Indonesia runners-up as Alberttt’s Yi Sun Shin and Schevenko David “Skylar” Tendean’s Bruno went uncontested in their farms.

Alberttt bounced back from a lackluster Game 1 with a 3-0-10 KDA in the second game, helping RRQ tie the series after a 14-2 victory.

RRQ continued to roll in Game 3 after it survived the early pressure put up by Blacklist anchored on Hadji’s Chou and Ohmyv33nus’ Rafaela. The Indonesians however failed to take advantage of the first Lord and their two crucial pickoffs in the late game which allowed Blacklist to turn things around in the final clash.