KWC ’25: Blacklist, BOOM suffer early setbacks in opening day
Photo from HoK Global Esports / Esports World Cup
KWC ’25: Blacklist, BOOM suffer early setbacks in opening day
RIYADH – It’s a rocky start for the Filipino delegation at the Honor of Kings World Cup 2025, as both Blacklist International and BOOM Esports falter in their opening matches of the group stage.
Blacklist drop their best-of-three series 0-2 against Hong Kong’s Paws Gaming, while BOOM fall in a hard-fought 1-2 loss against Gen.G Esports.
Blacklist open Game 1 on the offensive, keeping kill counts in their favor through the early phase despite the economy not favoring them. But a costly misstep near the Tyrant at the 10-minute mark—triggered by Chammy “Chammy1” Nazarrea’s mispositioned Guan Yu—turns the tides.
Paws Gaming capitalize with a full team wipe and storm the base shortly after, with Jiang “Fengjie” Longhui’s Lady Sun spearheading the final push.
Game 2 plays out in similar fashion. Paws dictate the tempo from the outset, luring Blacklist into unfavorable fights. A decisive skirmish at the top lane in the 15th minute sees Fengjie’s Meng Ya and Lam “Qinglin” Chiu-yu’s Dolia pull off a clean engage, splitting the Filipino squad and preventing a base defense.
Over on the other side of Group A, Gen.G Esports—representing Morocco—put BOOM Esports to the test. In Game 1, Gen.G allow only four kills, with Zhang “Roc” Peng’s Nezha running the show with a clean 2/1/5 performance.
BOOM bounce back in Game 2, rallying behind Karl “KARLLL” Bautista’s Agudo. The BOOM captain delivers five kills and nine assists while accounting for 30% of his team’s damage output.
But Roc returns in full force in Game 3, locking in Jing for a deadly seven-kill, four-assist outing. Gen.G’s calculated play punishes BOOM’s overextensions, shutting down fight backs and sealing the series.
BOOM Esports and Blacklist International are now set to clash in a do-or-die all-Filipino lower bracket match on July 17, with one team set to exit early.
A.C.T. Esports Club—the third-place team from the PKL—will also look to redeem the region’s chances as they take on Malaysia’s Alpha Gaming on July 16.
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