ESPORTS

Blacklist secures playoff top seed, Aura pulls ahead in Group A after Week 6 of MPL Season 7

Blacklist International and Aura PH secured important wins in the penultimate regular season week of the Mobile Legends Bang Bang Professional League (MPL) Philippines Season 7 to emerge as leaders in their respective groups heading into the playoffs.

Total dominance in Group B

Blacklist sustained their early season success and managed to win all but one series in the regular season. They have amassed a total of 27 points, 10 points clear of second-running Omega Esports.

The dark-horse-turned-tournament leader were reeling from a Week 5 hiccup against world champion and Season 6 champs Bren Esports, stopping their win streak at seven, but they have now scored another 3-match win streak, including sweeps of Omega and Laus Playbook Esports.

The team was so dominant all throughout that three members sit as top 5 KDA scorers in the regular season. Johnmar "Ohmyv33nus" Villaluna came in second with 6.04 KDA behind league leader Jaymark Aaron "Lord Hadess" Lazaro (7.06). Kiel Calvin "OHEB" Soriano is in third place with 5.98, while Danerie James "Wise" Del Rosario sits fourth with 5.91.

Resurgence is real

The resurrection of Aura PH has been nothing short of poetic as the only back-to-back champs in MPL history has now tightened their grip on the Group A top seat, needing only one match win to secure the coveted spot for the playoffs.

Aura, which was eliminated in the quarterfinals in Season 6, has so far accumulated 24 points, with still two matches to go in Week 7. In second is tournament dark horse and MPL rookie Work Auster Esports, which has 21 points but with only one match remaining in the season.

Dog fight for playoff placing

Although the top seeds in both groups are almost locked in, the playoff picture is still unclear and numerous playoff scenarios are still in play depending on the results of the Week 7 matches.

In Group A, Bren (18 points) has a chance to overtake Work (21 points) for the last ticket in the upper bracket of the playoffs with two matches to play in Week 7. Onic also has a fighting chance for the second seed granted they sweep their remaining two matches and their rivals get swept in their respective matches. Cignal Ultra, meanwhile, is on the way to relegation after failing to register a win in Season 7.

In Group B, Nexplay Esports (17 points) has only one match to play but Omega (17 points) still has two to go. Execration (15 points) also has two matches in Week 7 so the rankings can still look totally different come playoff time with three teams on almost equal footing currently.

—MGP, GMA News