Blacklist International team captain Johnmar “OhMyV33NUS” Villaluna admitted that the team got rattled by the massive crowd inside the Tennis Indoor Stadium Senayan early in their series match-up against home bet RRQ Hoshi, Wednesday night.
OhMyV33NUS said that the hostile crowd, which consists of 2,300 strong fans, played a huge role in the series but most especially in their tight Game One loss against the former MPL ID champion that reached almost 20 minutes.
(C) MOONTON Games
“Actually expected naman namin na magiging ganun yung crowd and I think isa yun sa mga kailangan talaga naming kaharapin especially if we’re up against Indonesian teams, especially RRQ,” said the reigning MPL PH MVP after the 3-2 win over RRQ Hoshi.
“Syempre at first, sobrang intense as in sobrang intense talaga. I think dahil don kaya kami natalo… it’s one of the major factors kung bakit kami natalo ng Game One,” she added.
After the opening loss, Blacklist International flaunted their championship composure and answered back by taking the next two games before losing Game Four which sent the series to a do-or-die match.
That poise was in full display come the decider as the Tier One-backed squad bucked a late Lord steal by Albert “Alberttt” Iskandar (Ling) to turn back RRQ Hoshi after almost 24 minutes of action.
(C) MOONTON Games
“Pero syempre hindi naman kami naging world champion nang matatalo lang kami dahil sa crowd. Moving forward, it’s a very good experience,” said OhMyV33NUS.
With the win, Blacklist International inched closer to a second consecutive finals berth in the M-series.
They will take on the winner of the ECHO-ONIC Esports match-up in the upper bracket finals on January 13, Friday.
