Coach BON CHAN Praises Geek Fam for Its Dark Horse Run in the MPLI 2022

Fans were shocked when Blacklist International was swept by Geek Fam in the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) Professional League Invitational (MPLI) 2022. Some fans were left disappointed as to why the powerhouse of the Philippines was eliminated by the Indonesian squad which was believed to be one of the weaker teams in Indonesia. Blacklist International’s head coach Kristoffer "BON CHAN" Ricaplaza responded to the criticism, claiming that the match was a fair game and the team has no excuse. The coach also mentioned that the surprises he mentioned in his previous vlogs, that the team couldn’t reveal in the MPLI 2022, will be reserved for future tournaments.

Coach BON CHAN congratulates Geek Fam for its impressive run in the MPLI 2022

Due to its disappointing performance in the Mobile Legends Professional League (MPL) Indonesia (ID) Season 10, Geek Fam was thought to be the weakest team in the MPLI 2022. However, the team was able to prove its critics wrong by delivering a clean sweep victory against Blacklist International and earned itself a grand finals ticket. 

While the team lost against ONIC Esports in the grand finale, fans were convinced that Geek Fam learned from its previous mistakes and made significant improvements to its team performance.

Through a vlog post, Coach BON CHAN lauded ONIC Esports for taking the championship title, but most importantly he commended the runner-up Geek Fam who became the dark horse of the MPLI 2022.

“Congratulations to ONIC Indonesia that Kairi led and congratulations also to Geek Fam for their wonderful run in the tournament,” said coach BON CHAN. “They beat the MSC champion, they beat us.”

The Blacklist International coach continued that despite failing to win the championship title, Geek Fam has earned the respect of other MLBB teams and fans for their near-perfect cinderella run.

“They [Geek Fam] have nothing to be sad about because they earned the respect of every team and the hearts of the viewers, it’s a win-win situation for them,” said coach BON CHAN.

The coach also addressed the haters criticizing Blacklist International for losing against Geek Fam in the MPLI 2022. 

“As for our haters that’ve been eagerly waiting for us to lose, congratulations to you all as we gave you the chance to celebrate,” coach BON CHAN stated. 

Some critics speculated that the match was rigged and the team intentionally threw the game. However, Coach BON CHAN slammed these allegations by saying that the Geek Fam squad won fair and square and the M3 World Champions have no excuse for losing.

“A loss is a loss, no more reason. Geek Fam was the better team that day, they deserve the win and to reach the grand finals,” said the coach.

Blacklist International still has a lot of tournaments to prepare for including the International Esports Federation (IESF) 14th World Esports (WE) Championship and the M4 World Championship. It will be interesting to see how the team performs in future tournaments.