Yue, Owl shrug off pressure as they fill in Hadji, Oheb roles for Blacklist International

PHNOM PENH— Over the past few years, Blacklist International was bannered by its core led by the duo of Johnmar "OhMyV33Nus" Villaluna and Danerie James "Wise" Del Rosario, alongside the troika of Edward "Edward" Dapadap, Salic "Hadji" Imam, and Kiel "Oheb" Soriano.

The quintet was able to deliver a number of titles, highlighted by their epic M3 world championship run, and three MPL Philippines crowns after having won seasons 7, 8, and 10.

However, both Hadji and Oheb, Blacklist's longtime mid and gold laners, decided to take a break from the professional scene during season 11. Still, the Codebreakers thrived with a new-look lineup as they added rookie Kenneth "Yue" Tadeo and Lee "Owl" Gonzales to the roster to finish as runner-up in the previous season.

The two young guns admitted to feeling the pressure of filling in for Hadji and Oheb, especially with Blacklist eyeing to cop the MSC 2023 crown — the only missing piece in their trophy collection.

"Nung una may pressure ako sa pagpasok ko sa Blacklist kasi nga syempre si Hadji 'yung nawala and kailangan ko punan 'yung role niya," Yue told GMA Integrated News on the heels of their 3-0 quarterfinals win against Fire Flux Impunity on Thursday.

("At first there was pressure when I joined Blacklist since it was Hadji who left and I needed to fill in for his role.")

Owl added: "Siguro, meron talaga sa una kasi si Oheb 'yan e. Marami kasi siyang na-achieve no'n sa Blacklist kaya mahirap."

("Perhaps there was really pressure at first since I'm substituting for Oheb. He achieved a lot for Blacklist that's why it's hard.")

But Yue and Owl said they turned those feelings of pressure into something positive, even adding that Hadji, the Season and Finals MVP in Season 8, and M3 MVP Oheb have been supportive of them by giving advices on how to perform on a big stage such as the MSC.

"Pero 'di ko ginawang negative 'yung naramdaman kong pressure, ginawa ko siyang positive. Nanghihingi rin ako sa kanya ng advice at tips," shared the 18-year-old Yue.

("I did not react negatively on the pressure that I felt. What I did was turn it into something positive, and also asked advice and tips.")

That proved to be true as Yue and Owl have been consistent for the Codebreakers in the mid-season tournament, where they punched a semifinals slot against home team Burn x Flash on Saturday.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News