These two Indonesian MLBB players are role models for Blacklist's OhMyV33nus, Wise

SINGAPORE—The Philippines and Indonesia have been building a bit of a rivalry in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang's recent history.

Indonesia's Alter Ego defeated BREN Esports in the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Profesional League (MPL) Invitational 2020 while its compatriot Onic Esports did the same against another Philippine team, Blacklist International, in the 2021 edition just last month.

And coming into the prestigious M3 World Championships here, with Blacklist being dubbed a contender, some quarters believe the world title is going to be disputed by the Filipinos and Onic Esports.

But, team captain Johnmar "OhMyV33nus" Villaluna doesn't think it will be that simple.

"Personally, I don't believe that because during M2, it was [the] Philippines versus Myanmar and I can see that all the teams in M3 are all strong," OhMyV33nus said during a press conference following their group stage sweep of the M3.

"And I believe that there will be other teams that will stand out."

But what surprised many was that both OhMyV33nus and teammate  Danerie James "Wise" Del Rosario revealed that they looked up to two Indonesian players as role models in their craft.

OhMyV33nus shared that Onic Esports' Adriand Larsen "Drian" Wong, a midlaner, was the first player who boosted his interest in Mobile Legends. In fact, he was ecstatic when Onic PH asked him to represent the team in MPL Philippines from seasons 4 to 6.

"Actually, I started playing Mobile Legends before MPL PH Season 4 and during that time, the first tournament that I watched was MSC and the first team that I watched was Onic Esports and the player that stood out to me was Drian," OhMyV33nus shared.

"Drian was my first ever idol in ML, even before I became a pro player. During MPL Season 4, when Onic reached out to acquire us and represent Onic PH, I was so happy."

The same goes for Wise as the 21-year-old professional gamer said he looks up to Gilang "SANZ" of Onic Esports since they both have the same kind of playing style.

"For me, I am watching SANZ because he was also good at playing assassin and when we fought at MPLI, he didn't use assassins and beat us with his Yi Sun Shin," Wise quipped.

"And I am proud because my favorite is also Yi Sun Shin."

Blacklist is already through to the upper bracket playoff while Onic Esports will battle it out today in Group B against MPL Malaysia Season 6 champions Todak, MPL Brazil Season 1 runner-up Vivo Keyd, and, incidentally, Onic PH.

—JMB, GMA News