The Sibol National Mobile Legends: Bang Bang team (MLBB) team celebrates its Gold medal win in the 31st SEA Games. The Indonesian team put up a good fight and even pulled off the iconic Hack-A-V33nus ban strategy but could not stop the Blacklist Sibol squad’s momentum, leading to a 3-1 match score in favor of Team Philippines. The Sibol MLBB Squad is comprises the iconic members of the M3 World Champion, Blacklist International alongside its promising rookies. This is the second Gold Medal won by the Sibol team with the female Wild Rift squad securing the first one. Both the Philippines teams won their Gold medal with an undefeated record.
Blacklist Sibol squad finishes with a flawless victory
The Sibol MLBB team features a mix of iconic members - Danerie “Wise” James Del Rosario, Salic “Hadji” Alauya Imam, Johnmar “OhMyV33NUS” Villaluna, and the promising rookies Russel “Eyon” Aaron Usi, Lee “Owl” Howard Gonzales, Kyle “Dominic” Dominic Soto.
The Blacklist Sibol squad started strong in the first game of the series. The Indonesian team pulled off the Hack-A-V33nus strategy, a tactic where teams ban as many of OhMyV33NUS’ comfort picks as possible to suppress his capabilities as the team’s support. However, it did not work in the Indonesian team’s favor as Owl’s Wanawn ended up being the highlight of the game.
Indonesia continued its previous drafting strategy with Calvin "Vynnn" switching to a Franco pick. This put the Blacklist Sibol squad in a bad situation as Franco executed successful hooks, allowing the Indonesian team to secure one win. However, the Indonesian squad could not keep its momentum going, allowing the Sibol MLBB Squad to secure a second win.
During the final game, Indonesia’s Rivaldi "R7" Fatah made a crucial misplay at the 10-minute mark where he overextended while duelling Hadji in the Mid Lane. The Blacklist Sibol squad was quick to take advantage of this which resulted in an all-out clash that wiped out the Indonesian team. With no one to defend the base, the Sibol MLBB team immediately went for a full-force push in the Mid Lane and closed the series with arguably one of the most anti-climactic finishers in the 31st SEA Games.
This is the second Gold Medal for the Sibol MLBB team as it also earned the very first esports Gold medal during the 2019 SEA Games. However, the journey is far from over as there are still more opportunities for the Philippines teams to aim for a Gold medal in the biannual event.