By REYNALD MAGALLON
Blacklist International head coach Bonn “Bon Chan” Ricaplaza would rather see another championship run than keep their winning streak alive in the MPL Philippines Season 8.
As it stands, Blacklist has secured a spot in the playoffs with a 10-0 record and tournament high 26 points under its name. The team only needs one more point to secure an outright spot in the upper bracket semifinals.
Bon Chan said that his team is keeping its eyes on the bigger prize which is defending their crown.
“Napaka useless naman siguro ng undefeated kung di ka rin magcha-champion. Mas pipiliin na naming matalo tapos magchampion kaysa undefeated and di mag champion,” he stressed.
The defending champions have four more games left in the schedule and Bon Chan believes one of those teams can halt their current unbeaten run.
“Apat nalang natitirang games namin, it’s either ONIC, Bren, NXP or Omega. Isa siguro sa mga yun makakatalo na sa amin,” said Bon Chan.
Blacklist’s unblemished record was put to a test on Sunday when the team struggled in the early goings of Game 1 in their series against RSG Philippines. Kiel “OHEB” Soriano, however, carried the team on his back with a 7-2-4 KDA to spare Blacklist some blushes in the opener through a 14-16 comeback win.
“Talagang malakas talaga RSG. No doubt about it. How RSG performed ineexpect nga talaga namin na sila yung makakatalo pero siguro nadale lang sa scaling na hero. Dumating lang yung right moment, yung right time na scaling na mga hero naming, dun na kami umabante,” Bon Chan said after the game.
It was all Blacklist from that point as it cruised to an easy 12-8 win in Game 2 with OHEB still leading the way with a 6-1-2 KDA to seal the series.
Blacklist will take on NXP Evos and Onic PH on October 2 and 3 respectively in Week 6 before rounding out the regular season with games against Omega Esports and Bren Esports in the final two days of the eliminations on October 9 and 10.