Image: Blacklist International
Despite all the fanfare surrounding Blacklist Rivalry, the team enjoyed only mixed success in its two years in the Dota 2 scene.
Filipino organisation Blacklist International has released its Dota 2 roster, Blacklist Rivalry, and is leaving the game's esports scene after less than two years in competition. In a post on its official Facebook account on Wednesday (September 18), Blacklist International said they “decided to reassess our future in the scene and allowed our players to explore their options” due to the ever-evolving landscape of the Dota 2 professional ecosystem.
Blacklist International is one of the biggest esports organisations in the Philippines under talent agency Tier One Entertainment, gaining renown for its successful Mobile Legends: Bang Bang teams. It entered the Dota 2 esports scene in November 2022 in partnership with esports betting platform Rivalry, christening the team as Blacklist Rivalry, and signing a stacked roster of Filipino stars that included Marc Polo “Raven” Fausto, Karl “Karl” Baldovino, Carlo “Kuku” Palad, Timothy “TIMS” Randrup, and Nico “eyyou” Barcelon.
Despite all the fanfare surrounding Blacklist Rivalry, the team enjoyed only mixed success at best. In the team's lone year of competing in the now-defunct Dota Pro Circuit (DPC), the team only managed to finished fourth, fifth, and second in the three Tours of the Southeast Asian Regional League and bowed out of the Bali Major in 13th-14th place.
Blacklist Rivalry also failed to qualify for The International (TI), Dota 2's annual world championship tournament, twice. In the TI 2023 Southeast Asian regional qualifier, they finished second behind Team SMG and narrowly missed out on the event. However, the TI 2024 Southeast Asian regional qualifier saw the team bomb out in 9th-12th place after losing to TNC Predator.
But what Blacklist Rivalry had been successful at was attracting Filipino stars to its banner, with the two biggest names recruited after its founding being Abed “Abed” Yusop and Kim “Gabbi” Santos in November 2023. Aside from those two, Blacklist Rivalry also hosted a revolving door of Filipino and Southeast Asian talent that included Jaunuel “Jaunuel" Arcilla, Damien “kpii” Chok, Kim “DuBu” Doo-young, Kenny “Xepher” Deo, and Adam “343” Shah, among others.
Prior to Blacklist's decision to exit the Dota 2 scene, its roster included John Anthony “Natsumi-” Vargas, Abed, Gabbi, TIMS, and Jaunuel. All players are now free agents and expected to move to different teams soon, with TIMS already revealed to be returning to Indonesia's BOOM Esports.
Blacklist International thanked all of its players and staff in its farewell post to the Dota 2 scene, saying:
After two years of working with Rivalry to bring Blacklist to the Dota scene, this chapter of our history is coming to a close.
Our redemption story has been followed by the community in all our ups and downs. From the first version of our squad when we brought together the legendary names of Philippine DOTA, to being able to do what the community said was impossible by bringing one of the best Filipino player home in Abed Yusop.
No one can deny that Blacklist Rivalry fought hard to fulfill the mission. Whether you love us or hate us, one thing is for sure: you followed us throughout this journey. And for that, we are thankful.
Unfortunately, even the greatest of stories must come to an end. We are incredibly thankful for each and every player and coach that has been part of the team. Their contributions to the Blacklist culture will always remain a part of our history.
With Team Liquid claiming the Aegis of Champions at The International 2024, the Dota 2 scene is now in its post-TI roster shuffle period as teams are disbanded, retooled, or even remade entirely in an effort to assemble the best rosters possible to try and capture next year's world championship title. For all the latest news on Dota 2's ongoing roster shuffle, check out GosuGamers' tracker here.
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