Blacklist International CEO Explains Reason for V33Wise Skipping MPL PH Season 9

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tier 1 Entertainment and the co-owner of Blacklist International, Tryke Gutierrez, reveals the team’s reason for allowing its star players Jhonmar "OhMyV33nus" Villaluna and Danerie "Wise" Rosario to skip the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) Professional League (MPL) Philippines (PH) Season 9. According to the Tier 1 Entertainment CEO, if the team had lost during the M3 World Championship, the two pro players may not have gone on a break as they would have wanted to redeem themselves in the next MPL season. It was also revealed that this short hiatus may be more than just taking a break from playing Mobile Legends.

OhMyV33nus and Wise deserved a break after a stressful MPL season

Last year, MLBB fans witnessed the Philippines team, Blacklist International, dominate the esports scene. Not only is the team the back-to-back champion of both MPL PH Season 7 and Season 8 but it also claimed the championship title in one of the most prestigious MLBB esports events, the M3 World Championship.

Shortly after the impressive run by Blacklist International, two of its star players, OhMyV33nus and Wise announced that they would be taking a break for one season. Through a Spotify podcast titled “Payaman Insider,” Tryke revealed that this brief hiatus is also a chance for the duo to put their minds at ease after a stressful season.

“On an operational level, the V33Wise (duo) will be able to take a break from all the stress they experienced from social media, mental to physical,” stated the Tier 1 Entertainment CEO.

Last year, The V33Wise duo was caught in various issues in the esports scene, one such incident was when social media trolls shared homophobic comments regarding the two pro players. The other one was regarding Omega Esports’ star player, Duane "Kelra" Pilllas as he made homophobic remarks about the dynamic duo on one of his livestreams.

Despite these issues, it did not stop OhMyV33nus and Wise from spearheading their team to an impressive run in the Mobile Legends esports scene.

Tryke added that the dynamic duo has been in the Mobile Legends esports scene since before the mobile MOBA title was mainstream. He felt this is why the pro players definitely deserved their hard-earned break.

He then compared this situation to the likes of Michael Jordan, the basketball legend, and Anathan “Ana” Pham, a DOTA 2 player, who also took a break from playing competitively. By taking a break, Tryke believed that the players would also gain wisdom and power along the way.

Taking notes from the M2 World Champions, Bren Esports, Tryke observed that the members may have burned out after years of competing within the Mobile Legends esports scene.

“I think after that (M2 World Championship), the pressure was too much and it feels like they need to win all their matches,” stated Tryke Gutierrez. “If you defeat them (Bren Esports), it would feel like you defeated a world champion, so every game is like a grand finals match.”

This is why the organization believed that the duo should take a break for this season. They felt it was the right decision as it allows the mental state of the two players to recover from all the pressure and stress they both endured last year. However, fans will still be seeing the dynamic duo in action as they will be participating in the upcoming MLBB Sibol Qualifiers Phase 2 for a chance at winning the honor of representing the Philippines in the upcoming 31st Southeast Asia (SEA) Games.