Filipino teams Blacklist Int’l, Talon qualify to PUACL 2025 SEA playoffs; Elevate bow out of contention
Filipino teams Blacklist Int’l, Talon qualify to PUACL 2025 SEA playoffs; Elevate bow out of contention
MANILA – Two Filipino Pokemon UNITE teams will progress to the playoffs of the Pokémon UNITE Asia Champions League 2025 – Southeast Asia as the tournament’s group stage concludes on Saturday.
Both Blacklist International and Talon Esports grabbed their tickets to the knockout rounds of the regional tournament, where the top four teams will advance to the Asia Champions League Finals in Shinjuku, Japan on March.
Reverse sweep completed for Talon
Talon, who seated fourth before Week 6, needed a win against Indonesian rivals Alter Ego to have a favorable position in the upcoming playoffs, with the two teams alongside EVOS Onyx tied with a 4-4 record heading to the final match day.
However, Talon had a hard time against the Indonesia-based team as AE took Game 1, thanks to a skirmish in the seventh minute which saw Talon being wiped out and Alter Ego scoring 127 points in a single go.
From there, it was all AE as they took control of the map and won the game, 683-194, with Tay “Ice” Leong Jie’s Blastoise leading the way with 182 points, and Loo “Shingdi” Kin-shing’s Tsareena tallying the same points.
Talon however, quickly recovered and put up a commanding 102-0 lead in the first three minutes of Game 2, which they extended further until the finish as they dominated every teamfight.
Despite AE getting 202 points in the last minute, it wasn’t enough as Talon won with a comfortable 816-283 outing as Robert Jon “Sync1” Mempin’s Dodrio scored 235, while limiting Shingdi’s Greninja and Hu “zzzRay” Hsin-rui’s Mega Mewtwo Y to zero points.
Talon had the same showing in Game 3 as they grabbed a wire-to-wire victory, 758-194, with Sync1’s Greninja getting the MVP nod with 10 kills and 12 assists and getting 151 points and Clint Marvin “Mike” Abuda’s Mimikyu getting 352 points.
With their win and EVOS Onyx losing to league leaders Buriram United Esports, it was Talon who ended up in fourth while EVOS went ahead of AE by head-to-head.
Unable to break down ONIC Rise’s code
ONIC rise solidified their top-two status in the league table as Blacklist International tasted a reverse sweep of their own in the penultimate match of the elimination stage
Charles “Cent” Ontiveros’ Ceruledge became the star of the show for the Codebreakers as he put up 196 points alongside eight kills and six assists in a 908-314 demolition of ONIC.
ONIC tried to chase down the lead, cropping it to only 19 points in the 6th minute but even the heroics from Muhammad Haikal “Zoe” Irawan can’t contain the Codebreaker’s already swelling lead.
The Hedgehogs went to Game 2 in commanding fashin as Judha “Eeyorr” Panggabean’s Ceruledge getting the MVP nod on a closer 401-266 affair, with Zoe’s Hoopa not far behind with 158.
Andrei “Dreamt” Mendoza’s Inteleon became a non-factor, getting only five assists and scoring none, and Blacklist unable to win despite getting the Rayquaza as Eeyor and Zoe both scored 100 points to boost their lead.
Blacklist had their hearts broken in the third match as the narrowly lost 402-209 with a comeback from ONIC in the final stretch.
ONIC’s newcomer “Cell” proved his worth to the squad with 234 points from his Tsareena, including 184 in the final two minutes of play as well as securing the Rayquaza with 67 seconds left to play.
Blacklist, who led 209-126 before the Rayquaza skirmish, had their initial built up led to naught as Luke “Swswsw” Lewis’s Mr. Mime was unable to catch Cell in the bottom side of the map.
The Codebreakers, despite getting a 3-6 standing, still made out of the group stage as they won on head-to-head against Korea’s Miraen Sejong and Thailand’s Full Sense.
Elevate bow out with heads held high
Last place Elevate, despite getting booted out in Week 5, managed to end their seven-match losing skid as they prevailed against Miraen Sejong on their final match day.
The Koreans however made things complicated for Elevate as they took the Rayquaza seconds after the final stretch and scoring 370 points in a matter of seconds from 91 to 461 to complete a Game 1 comeback.
Kim “Spirits” Yong-sik’s Buzzwole was the difference-maker for MSJ, tallying 140 points and securing the Rayquaza while Park “JJong” Kyeong-min’s Urshifu led the scoresheet with 143 points.
MSJ, who needed a good result in the matchup, found themselves in a losing effort in Game 2 as Elevate took the Rayquaza in the dying seconds with Luis John “Luisss” Felizarte’s Inteleon getting a big time play.
It was Michael Vaughn “Miva” Ocio’s Glaceon who led the way for Elevate with 114 points, while JJong’s Metagross only scored 70 as Miraen Sejong went scoreless in the final four minutes.
MSJ found themselves on the driver’s set for almost the entirety of the match, but the former OMO Abyssinian lineup secured the Rayquaza thanks to Jose Miguel “Jrabsnt” Liban’s getting the last hit with the Psyduck.
Elevate won 603-424 with Miva’s Mimikyu getting the MVP nod with 138 points and game-high seven kills, while Luisss’ Glaceon scored 230 and prevented the resurging MSJ from scoring further after his teammates fell down.
MSJ will still make it to the playoffs after Full Sense were swept by Singapore side Paper Rex in the final match of the group stage.
Matchups confirmed
Talon and Blacklist had confirmed their opponents in the playoffs, which will be wrapped on January 25.
Seventh-seeded Blacklist will be granted a match against Paper Rex, who finished second after losing the head-to-head tiebreaker against Buriram United Esports.
Fourth-seeded Talon will have their first-round matchup against EVOS Onyx, whom they defeated in Week 2, 2-1.
Top-seeded Buriram United will have their first match against Miraen Sejong, while sixth-seeded Alter Ego will face third-seeded ONIC Rise.
Watch their matches live on Pokemon Unite’s official Facebook, YouTube, and Twitch channels.
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