Blacklist International Ends Partnership With Team Lunatix After Alleged Mismanagement

With the allegations regarding Team Lunatix’s mismanagement of Blacklist International’s Mobile Legends Development League (MDL) team, the two esports organizations have officially parted ways. The Codebreakers made an official statement and ended their partnership with the Malaysian esports organization. Recent allegations suggest that Team Lunatix was not providing financial assistance for the team. The official page of MDL also announced that it is currently investigating the allegations. Blacklist International has also taken over its MDL team and will be managing them until the end of the season. 

Team Lunatix allegedly accused of mismanagement

Team Lunatix has been under fire recently due to allegations of mismanagement. According to a report from Spin.PH, the Blacklist Lunatix team manager, Eviann Balquin, shared how the team has been struggling financially and was not being paid their salary. The amateur squad was even kicked out of their boot camp due to unpaid rent.

Following this Blacklist International responded to the issue through a Facebook post. The esports organization announced that it has officially ended its partnership with Team Lunatix. 

"After going through an internal investigation, Blacklist International has decided to terminate our partnership with the Lunatix organization, effective immediately," captioned the post.

The post continued, revealing that the Philippines (PH) organization will take over and manage the MDL team from now on. "We will also be taking over the management of the MDL team from today until the end of the season. We hope you’ll support Blacklist Academy throughout the rest of their MDL season."

MDL PH to investigate Team Lunatix’s mistreatment of Blacklist Academy MDL team

MDL Philippines also made an official statement regarding the issue and is looking to investigate further on this issue.

“We are aware of the situation concerning Blacklist Lunatix, and are currently investigating this issue. All teams are encouraged to prioritize player welfare to ensure that they are given the best platform to pursue professional esports growth,” captioned MDL PH.

Team Lunatix is yet to officially make a statement regarding the issue. Fans will have to keep their eyes peeled for more updates in the future.

Update 25/09/2023: MDL Philippines announced the results of its investigation. As a result of the issue, Blacklist Academy Lunatix, the officially-registered team to compete in the amateur tournament, shall be penalized for the poor mismanagement of its players.

The league will also host a workshop in hopes of preventing similar issues from surfacing in the future.