After M3 conquest and SEA Games gold, V33Wise returns to MPL PH hungry for more

This MPL season, The Queen and The Core are returning to their court after conquering the M3 World Championship and capturing the gold medal at the Southeast Asian Games.

Johnmar "OhMyV33nus" Villaluna and Danerie James "Wise" Del Rosario of Blacklist International took a break from local competition for one season, but they are now ready to once again lead their squad to glory in MPL Philippines Season 10.

Known as the V33Wise duo, Blacklist’s team captain and jungler blazed a trail through the Mobile Legends professional scene with their signature healing strategy courtesy of OhMyV33nus’ iconic Estes pick. The team immortalized their identity by choosing Estes for their exclusive M3 championship skin.

Individually, OhMyV33nus has been dubbed as the best shot caller by numerous personalities in the MLBB community, while Wise has gained respect internationally and has been considered as the best jungler in the world.

Without V33wise, Blacklist International missed the playoffs in the MPL PH Season 9 after winning back to back titles in Season 7 and Season 8. With their leaders back in action for Season 10, the team is raring to reclaim their throne.

Layoff not a concern

Despite taking a break for one full season, V33wise is not concerned about getting rusty from competitive play. The duo proved that they can flip the switch when they bannered the Sibol MLBB team which had two rookies in the SEA Games.

With two amateurs in the team, there were some doubts on whether Sibol can win the Philippines’ second consecutive gold medal in the biennial meet. Wise shrugged them off and showed what it means to have the heart of a champion.

“Pag kasi once na competitive ka sa professional player, di mawawala ‘yun sayo. Lalo ang mindset mo lang is magpahinga for isang season. Di nawawala ‘yung championship mentality mo na gusto mong mag-champion parati. And ‘yung passion talaga sa game, di ‘yon basta basta mawawala lang,” the star jungler told GMA News Online in an exclusive interview.

OhMyV33nus and Wise also displayed tremendous leadership in the Vietnam Games, guiding the rookies with aplomb as they battled Southeast Asia’s best MLBB players.

“May dalawa kaming rookie, so may mga jitters pa rin talaga sila, especially first tournament nila ‘yun, and international tournament pa, so medyo, kelangan namin sila alalayan,” said OhMyV33nus.

Exp laner Kyle “Dominic” Soto echoed OhMyV33nus’ sentiments and revealed how nervous he was at the start of the tournament.

“Sa una lang ‘yung kaba tapos dapat sa mga susunod na game dapat mawala na kasi medyo nakakasira talaga ng laro ‘yung kaba," Dominic said. “Iniisip ko lang tao lang din ‘yung kalaban.”

Wise believes that trust came a long way for their rookies as they started to grow throughout the tournament.

“Kahit may jitters sila, parang malakas pa rin loob nila maglaro kasi ‘yung mga kakampi nila is may experience na. And ‘yun sabi lang namin magtiwala sila sa ‘min,” he said.

Armed with their Sibol experience, V33wise returns to MPL PH stronger and more confident in their abilities to lead their team to the promised land. The top two teams of Season 10 will win not just the local title, but also earn tickets to the M4 World Championship. To defend their crown, Blacklist must once again triumph over the local pro scene stacked with talented players.

"Feeling ko kahit panalo kami [sa SEA Games], may mga kailangan pa kaming i-improve para sa paparating na Season 10 kasi parang di namin dominated lahat ng laro. Puro close fight," said midlaner Salic “Hadji” Imam.

With the team flaunting their M3 World Championship roster once again, sky is the limit as they face familiar foes.

Sibol success a different kind of special

V33Wise has won many accolades in MLBB tournaments, both local and international. Since turning pro in Season 4, OhMyV33nus and Wise have qualified for the MPL PH grand finals four times in five seasons capped off by back-to-back championships in Season 7 and 8. Their lowest finish since their professional debut? Fourth place in Season 6.

They also finished runner-up in the MLBB Southeast Asian Cup 2021 and the MPL Invitational 2021 before they went on rampage with the M3 World Championship. Last July, they once again won the rights to represent the Philippines in the International Esports Federation (IESF) World Esports Championship in November 2022 after topping the Sibol 2022 National Team Selection.

For the duo, however, they consider the gold medal they won at the 2021 Southeast Asian Games as special. Like many national athletes, they felt that repping the flag and wearing the country’s colors gave it a different meaning.

“Pagdating sa ML community, mas valuable talaga ‘yung M3 kasi world championship ‘yon eh. Pero s’yempre para sa karangalan ng bansa, mas valuable talaga ‘yung SEA Games medal,” OhMyV33nus said.

“Lahat ng nag-e-ML parang titingalain ka na kasi world champion ka na eh. Pero pag SEA Games kasi pati magulang mo sobrang [proud]... Proud naman sa ‘kin ‘yung parents ko nung M3 pero iba kasi mindset nila sa SEA Games,” Wise added.

The duo marvelled at the level of support and attention they enjoyed, not just from ML players but the Filipino community at large.

“Hindi lang ‘yung mga Filipino citizens kundi ‘yung government din. Mas nano-notice nila [kaming representatives],” the Blacklist International captain said.

“Maganda na mai-gold medal ‘yun para mas ma-notice ng government ang e-sports and mas mapalawak siya... at least masuportahan [pa] sa Pilipinas.”

—MGP, GMA News