Blacklist International's OhMyV33NUS Shares Past Struggles And How V33Wise Overcame It

Blacklist International’s team captain and support specialist, Johnmar “OhMyV33nus” Villaluna shared the struggles faced by him and his partner Danerie James “Wise” Del Rosario during their rookie days. In a YouTube series titled “Turning Point” hosted by the co-owner of Blacklist International, Tryke Gutierrez, it was revealed that the most troublesome season for OhMyV33nus was back in Season 6 of the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) Professional League (MPL) Philippines (PH) where the team captain was forced to switch from playing with an iPad to a mobile device due to the new rule imposed by the league. The sudden adjustment affected OhMyV33nus’ gameplay and confidence to play MLBB competitively.

OhMyV33nus and Wise struggled to find a new team after ONIC PH released them

The dynamic duo was one of the reasons ONIC PH managed to reach the grand finals of the MPL PH Season 4 and Season 5. While the team was not able to acquire a championship title, OhMyV33nus never gave up on the dream of taking the crown.

However, it was not until MPL PH Season 6 when the team captain endured the darkest moments of his career as an MLBB pro player.

“Actually, if I look back on my career, including Wise, was during Season 6. I knew I could reach grand finals or even become champion,” OhMyV33nus said.

According to him, this was during the time when players were complaining about OhMyV33nus using an iPad while playing in the tournament. From MPL PH Season 6 onwards Moonton implemented a rule that forced all players to use only mobile devices when playing.

“I switched to phone and I struggled so hard to the point I said ‘I give up playing ML, I don’t want to be a pro player anymore because I can’t adjust to a mobile phone!’,” he said.

The sudden implementation of the rule affected OhMyV33nus’ performance, resulting in the decline of ONIC PH’s dominance in the MPL PH esports scene.

“I cried so hard at that time and I told Wise ‘if I was playing on an iPad, I feel we could have had a winning streak, I feel we would reach grand finals.’ My performance really declined, my micro and macro skills and at the same time, my shot calling,” the team captain said.

This resulted in ONIC PH letting go of its dynamic duo, offering trades to various teams. According to OhMyV33nus, this was the most disheartening moment in their careers as MLBB pro players.

“It hurts that they released us because I said to myself before that ONIC (ONIC PH) is the perfect team, the perfect family for me and I always tell myself that ‘whatever happens, I will never replace ONIC’,” OhMyV33nus said.

The team captain added that no one wanted to acquire him and Wise together which made it really hard to find a new team. The dynamic duo even contemplated either joining teams separately or just focusing on their streaming careers, but eventually Blacklist International reached out to them.

Blacklist International reignited OhMyV33nus’ passion

Having no other choice, OhMyV33nus and Wise joined Blacklist International which was still trying to make its mark within the MLBB esports scene. OhMyV33nus revealed that he felt at home when he joined the team.

“If you think about it personality-wise, we (Him and Wise) can fit better in Blacklist compared to other teams,” he said.

OhMyV33nus added that Blacklist International struggled with its team chemistry until its team manager, Elrasec "Radacars" Ocampo, came in and gave them emotional support. “At first, it was a real struggle for us (Blacklist International) to the point that one of us wanted to leave. When boss Rada (Radacars) came he helped us mentally and emotionally,” he said.

As Blacklist International continued its journey in the MLBB esports scene, OhMyV33nus eventually found the confidence to once again be the shot caller for his team. The team captain thanked the team’s head coach, Kristoffer "BON CHAN" Ricaplaza for giving him another chance to play his comfort heroes which eventually evolved into the iconic Ultimate Bonding Experience (UBE) Strategy.

“Before we joined Blacklist, he (BON CHAN) chatted with us saying that he has been practicing Estes,” he said. ”It’s like he’s preparing strategies for heroes I’m well known for and where I’m good at.”

OhMyV33nus stated that thanks to BON CHAN’s determination and hard work, they were able to form the team’s unique identity to eventually go on to become back-to-back MPL PH champions and then win the M3 World Championship title.

While fans will not be seeing the dynamic duo of Wise and OhMyV33nus in the upcoming MPL PH Season 9, fans will see the duo competing in the upcoming 31st SEA Games, set to kick off on 12th May.

Keep up with the live scores, schedule, stream links, and more with AFK Gaming's hub for the MPL PH Season 9.