MPL S13: Blacklist win over ECHO eliminates Omega from playoff hunt

Omega misses playoffs for first time 

Blacklist International's Yue and Sensui share high-fives after winning a game against Minana EVOS in MPL Season 13. Courtesy: MPL Philippines/File 

MANILA - Blacklist International on Saturday afternoon snagged a last-ride ticket to the MPL Season 13 playoffs after a masterful 2-1 win against ECHO. 

Succumbing in Game 1 after a savage by ECHO's Benedict "BennyQT" Gonzales, Blacklist evened the series through a tight contest in Game 2, giving them the point they need for an assured playoffs spot. 

They cleaned things up further with a dominant game in Game 3 of the entire series. 

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The win ends the playoff race between Blacklist International and Smart Omega, who in turn miss their first playoffs bid as a result.  

After the tandem of Johnmar "OhMyV33nus" Villaluna and Danerie James "Wise" Del Rosario, along with Renejay "Renejay" Bacarse decided to sit out MPL Season 13,the young "MV3" triad of Salic "Hadji" Imam, Kiel "Oheb" Soriano and Edward "Edward" Dapadap, along with breakout stars Stephen "Sensui" Castillo and Kenneth "Yue" Tadeo anchored most of the regular season's playoffs campaign. 

Blacklist's regular season went back and forth, but the win to ECHO surged them to 5th in the standings with 19 points, as of writing. 

Smart Omega on the other hand currently have 10 points, and can only get a maximum of 16 points, should they win their game tonight against TNC Pro Team, and against Minana EVOS on Sunday. 

Omega has come off a devastating season, reeling from Grant Duane "Kelra" Pillas and Patrick "E2MAX" Caidic's absence from the team, as both stars transferred to Onic Philippines. 

In the offseason, they rode on a young team anchored on Nowee "Ryota" Caballo, hall of legends player Carlito "Ribo" Ribo Jr. and returning MPL Philippines player John Paul "H2wo" Salonga. 

After Omega struggled to get into form, they decided to promote MPL hall of famer Joshua "Ch4knu" Mangilog and breakout star Andrew Lew "Andoryuuu" Flora. 

While Omega scored a perfect week last week, Blacklist' Game 2 win over ECHO was enough to get the Codebreakers the last playoff spot.