Blacklist International has officially announced their lineup for the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Pro League Philippines Season 12 competition which will start this month. And for the second time in their competitive years, two of their veterans, Danerie “Wise Rosario and Johnmar “OHMYV33NUS” Villaluna, will not compete for the upcoming season.
Through their official social media account, the team announced that Wise and V33NUS decided to take a break for an undefined time after playing intensely from MPL PH Season 10 to MSC 2023. The vacancy left by the two will be filled by Salic “Hadji” Imam , Renejay “Renejay” Barcase and Kiel “Oheb” Soriano, three Blacklist veterans who took a break from the regular team in the previous 6 months. Meanwhile, the young duo Lee “Owl” Gonzales and Kenneth “Yue” Tadeo, who performed well last season, have retained their place in the lineup.
In addition to these five, they also announced the signing of Kim “Kimpoy” Dela Cruz, Russel “Eyon” Esi, and Stephen “Sensui” Castillo as replacements for Jon “Super Red” Bordeos and Jomari “Archer” Perez who left the team after MSC 2023. Sensui will replace Wise as the main jungler on the team.
The departure of the VeeWise duo from the club prompted mixed responses from their fans. Some of them believe that this decision will improve the team’s performance in the long run, given how much criticism the duo has gotten for their gameplay. On the other hand, some hardcore fans feel that the decision was quite risky, as their expertise is still needed to guide the new players.
Outside of the league, the absence of the two is likely to have an impact on the team’s plans should they qualify for M5 at the end of the year. However, given that tactician Kristofer “Bon Chan” Ricaplaza, who typically has a formula to take on his opponents’ games, is back in charge as head coach this season, it is doubtful that they will be troubled by this decision.
Since joining the Blacklist in 2020, VeeWise have taken two absences from the team. After winning the MPL PH S7 and S8 competitions, they chose to sit out the S9 competition in the first half of 2022. This decision backfired as the team was unable to find suitable replacements and finished seventh at the time, failing to advance to the playoffs.
