With MPL PH Season 12 only a few hours away, we are taking a closer look at Blacklist International and their lacklustre run towards the M5 World Championships.
On September 8, 2023, the Mobile Legends Professional League in the Philippines will begin its twelfth season of action, as the eight teams battle it out across the Land of Dawn to claim the crown as their own. While 
Blacklist International has been the recipient of said crown on multiple occasions, Season 11 saw them falling short to 
ECHO – the same team which tore the M4 title away from them at the final hurdle. Coming into Season 12, Blacklist is definitely not at their strongest, and they could fail to make a challenge for M5 if things do not go their way.
Blacklist International has become one of the most decorated teams in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang’s professional scene over the last few years. With the domination of the Philippines beginning when Bren Esports won the M2 World Championships, Blacklist emerged as one of the few teams from the region to reign supreme in the Land of Dawn – with teams such as Execration, ECHO, and 
RSG Philippines being some of the others. The team has secured three crowns in MPL PH since Season 7, with a second place in the most recent Season 11 – but we want to take a look at Season 9.
Having just won the M3 World Championships, both 
Johnmar “OhMyV33NUS” Villaluna and Danerie “Wise” James decided to take a break from competitive play for MPL PH Season 9, leaving the roster to one of their worst performances in recent years. Blacklist only completed a total of three series victories in that season, and while they managed to take a few games off opponents in the Regular Season, ultimately, they finished in the bottom two spots, unable to make the playoffs – which can quite clearly be linked to the absence of their star duo.
Fast forward to today, where Blacklist has had a string of second-place finishes in 2023, with both ECHO and ONIC Esports getting the better of them on occasion and “V33Wise” on a break once again for Season 12. The team welcomed back Kiel Calvin “OHEB” Soriano and Salic “Hadji” Imam to the starting roster, as well as Coach BON CHAN to help them on their journey – but will this be enough, is the question at hand.
In their run-up to Season 12, the team has already been seen struggling in ranked play, falling to ECHO on multiple occasions in the past few days. While this is not a clear indication of how the season will progress, it definitely does not bode well for a team which should be at their peak right before the season kicks off. Without V33Wise, the team seems to struggle when it comes to piecing together their individual talent – which is certainly not lacking, but a vital piece of the puzzle is missing.
While this is all speculation, we will get to see just what Blacklist can do with a new roster in MPL PH Season 12’s first week of the Regular Season on September 8 as they take on ECHO, RSG PH, and 
Omega Esports over the three-day period. This should give us a clear indication of whether or not the once-dominant team will be making it to the M5 World Championship to challenge for their second title, or if they will be forgetting in the pits of PH once again.
