Blacklist International team co-owner Tryke Gutierrez has no regrets about his decision to allow Johnmar “OhMyV33nus” Villaluna and Danerie James “Wise” del Rosario skip Mobile Legends Professional League Philippines Season 9.
Blacklist, the M3 Mobile Legends world champion, was coming off back-to-back MPL Philippines title Seasons 7 and 8 and was on the verge of becoming the first team in history to win the title thrice in a row.
The power duo of OhMyV33nus and Wise, however, opted to skip Season 9 altogether, saying that they badly needed a break following a grueling local and international campaigns.
The move proved detrimental for the squad as Blacklist failed to even make it to the Playoffs without two of its superstars.
But for Tryke, it was the right move to make.
“When we decided to rest V33Wise for Season 9, I feel it was a pivotal decision for the whole team,” said Tryke, also the chief executive officer of Tier One Entertainment.
“I have been in Esports for a long time and I have seen teams fail there is a certain cap to pressure and arguments that happen day to day”
He said giving his stars a break was healthy for the team.
“In my DOTA 2 experience, I saw a lot of teams reach the top, and then after winning was the pressure, get into the next season, lose, have a fallout, and then disband,” he added.
But as soon as the V33Wise duo was back on the roster, Blacklist immediately showcased its world championship form once again together with Edward Jay “EDWARD” Dapadap, Kiel Calvin “OHEB” Soriano and Salic “Hadji” Imam.
Though Blacklist lost more matches in the regular season compared to Seasons 7 and 8 with the V33Wise duo, it nevertheless ended in the top seed before bagging its third championship with a 4-2 score against fan-favorite ECHO.
Not only did Blacklist win MPL’s latest season, but it also qualified for the M4 Mobile Legends World Championship which is set to take place from 1 to 15 January in Jakarta, where teams would battle for their share of the $800,000 prize pool.
