Blacklist International escapes BOOM Esports to claim first PKL championship

Blacklist International escapes BOOM Esports to claim first PKL championship

QUEZON CITY — Blacklist International have finally broken the code.

After falling short in two separate Ultimate Battles—February’s Honor of Kings Invitational Season 3 and again in June’s Philippine Kings League (PKL) Spring Split Grand Final, the Codebreakers rose to the occasion on Sunday.

Blacklist edged out rivals BOOM Esports in a nail-biting 4–3 series to capture their first-ever PKL title inside Ayala Malls Trinoma’s Activity Center.

Breaking the curse

Chammy “Chammy1” Nazzarrea set the tone early with a commanding Fatih performance in Game 1. The clash laner dominated with four kills and seven assists in a 12–1 rout.

Blacklist managed to punish Karl Ken “Karlll” Bautista’s Pei four times, but BOOM’s map control and rotation dominance gave them the upper hand.

BOOM extended their momentum in Games 2 and 3. Karlll bounced back with a flawless 4/0/7 Luna game to equalize. Meanwhile, Heri “Tatsuriii” Garcia’s Wang Zhaojun anchored a comeback win in 16 minutes, handing BOOM a 2–1 series lead.

Blacklist refused to fold. Charles “Chazz” Esguerra’s Zhang Fei orchestrated their Game 4 response. The roamer dished out two kills and ten assists in a 19-minute slugfest that tied the score at 2–2.

Tatsuriii once again showed championship form in Game 5, posting a 7/0/6 KDA on top of Reniel “Dr4w” Angara’s 13 assists to push BOOM to match point at 3–2. Karlll added five kills with Musashi, as BOOM appeared one step away from another crown.

But Blacklist had other plans as Dragon Hart “Dragon” Dajao’s Gan & Mo powered the Codebreakers to a crucial Game 6 win. The midlaner tallied five kills and four assists to force the Ultimate Battle decider.

Codebreakers complete the climb

Both squads drafted their comfort picks in Game 7—opting for Yuhuan compositions.

However, Blacklist’s decision to slot the hero in the midlane paid off. The deadly Yuhuan–Agudo combo peaked by the fifth minute, triggering a relentless snowball as BOOM’s squishy lineup collapsed under pressure.

By the eighth minute, the defending champions were wiped out, and Blacklist sealed their long-awaited PKL title.

Chammy1 earned Finals MVP honors with averages of 2.71 kills, 1.86 deaths, and 4.14 assists across the seven-game thriller.

Looking ahead

Blacklist International and BOOM Esports now turn their attention to the Honor of Kings International Championship this November. The two will be joined by third-place Elevate and fourth-place A.C.T. Esports Club to represent the Philippines.

Before then, Blacklist will head to Malaysia on October 23 alongside WETRND Esports for the Honor of Kings Nation Clash, where they’ll face the top squads from Indonesia and Malaysia.

About Author

Drew Malihan

Drew sucks at FPS games but loves watching PUBG and VALORANT. He found his way into esports through MLBB and HOK, and will die on the hill that Football Manager and even Excel deserve to be esports titles—despite not being good at any of them.

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