Images: MOONTON Games
Roster drama suggested a big rivalry was brewing between Aurora and Blacklist, but Aurora is clearly looking superior this season.
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) esports action resumed in the Philippines with a bang as Season 14 of the MLBB Professional League (MPL) Philippines launched on Friday (August 16).
Fittingly, the new season launched with the highly-anticipated matchup between newcomers 
Aurora Gaming and stalwarts 
Blacklist International. In their debut match at MPL PH, Aurora soundly swept Blacklist in a thoroughly one-sided series.
A brewing rivalry?
While Aurora has only just entered the MLBB scene for MPL PH's newest season, there's already a bit of bad blood between the newcomers and Blacklist following some roster drama between the two parties.
Last July, former Blacklist players Edward “Edward” Dapadap, Kenneth “Yue” Tadeo, and Renejay “Renejay” Barcase as well as coaches Aniel “Master the Basics” Jiandani and Dexter “Dex Star” Alaba left the organisation and joined Aurora's roster for the new season. The former Blacklist star duo of Jonmar “OhMyV33nus” Villaluna and Danerie “Wise” Rosario also left Blacklist. However, they remain inactive from competitive play and now serve as Aurora's Esports & Gaming Content Directors.
Rounding out Aurora's roster were Jonard “Demonkite” Caranto, Jan Dominic “'Domeng” Delmundo, and Ben “Benthings” Maglaque.
Meanwhile, the departures of multiple members of its team forced Blacklist to go for a rebuild and field a 10-man roster for Season 14, led by remaining players Kiel Calvin “Oheb” Soriano, Kim “Kimpoy” Dela Cruz, and Salic “Hadji” Imam. The sudden roster overhaul so close to the start of a new MPL season even prompted a heated public statement from Blacklist founder Tryke Gutierrez regarding the situation.
It had all the makings of a rivalry, but Aurora's stacked roster proved too much for a Blacklist that seemed ill-prepared for the season ahead.
Aurora utterly dominate Blacklist
Game one had a slow, methodical start as both teams opted to size each other up and focus on taking early objectives instead of hunting for kills in the laning stage. It took over 10 minutes of game time before first blood was drawn when Aurora won a fight for the game's first Lord and took two kills.
Despite the low kill count, Aurora was leagues ahead in terms of economy and relentlessly fished for opportunities to make good use of their advantage. Aurora got their chance in another clash for Lord, where Blacklist managed to snipe the objective but found themselves in a compromised position as a result. Aurora then promptly teamwiped their opponents and bulldozed through their base immediately after to claim the game one win in 15 minutes and with a clean 7-0 kill lead.
Yue spearheaded Aurora's victory in the series opener with a perfect two-kill, five-assist performance on Zhask.
In stark contrast to the previous game, game two was action-packed as Aurora drew first blood just a bit over the minute mark while Blacklist answered not long after by taking their first two kills of the series four minutes in. With both teams raring for action, multiple clashes for control of key objectives ensued with Aurora coming off the better in those trades. Despite Blacklist's best efforts to mount a comeback, Aurora looked unstoppable as they secured the 2-0 series sweep in 15 minutes of action and with a 14-6 kill lead.
Demonkite led the way for Aurora in the closeout game, notching 10 kills and one assist on just one death with his surprise Fanny pick.
Aurora will be looking to build on their strong start to the season as they take on RSG Philippines in their second match of the season on Sunday (August 18). Meanwhile, Blacklist will be looking to bounce back against another tough opponent in Fnatic ONIC PH on the same day.
