Blacklist boots out Geek Fam, advances to M5 lower bracket semis

The dream for another all-Filipino grand finals showdown remains alive as Blacklist International broke the code of Indonesia's Geek Fam, 3-1, to advance to the lower bracket semifinals of the M5 World Championship on Friday.

Before that, the Codebreakers had to buck a number of slow starts to overcome the Indonesian squad and keep their campaign alive. 

Geek Fam needed just 15 minutes to take down Blacklist in Game 1, which saw them fashion out a dominant 10-2 kill spread with Filipino import Mark "Markyyy" Capacio showing the way with an unblemished 3/0/4 KDA on his Claude. 

Blacklist, however, refused to just fold and won the next three games to continue its lower bracket crawl. 

Geek Fam was well on its way to secure a commanding 2-0 lead when they picked off three Blacklist heroes and marched on the mid lane for a potential tower lock. The Filipinos then retaliated and wiped out the opponents in the 20th minute to level the series. 

A crucial lord kill by jungler Stephen "Sensui" Castillo (Akai) at the 17:24-mark of Game 3 and a double kill by Edward "Edward" Dapadap proved to be the game changers as Blacklist didn't even need the lord as it destroyed the base for the match point. 

Before that tough victory, Blacklist once stared at a 1-7 kill deficit before reigniting late and pulling off the comeback. 

Renejay and rising mid laner Kenneth "Yue" Tadeo then connived in Game 4 with their duo of heroes Estes and Gord, which especially made crucial kills in the late game that sealed the deal for Blacklist. 

Blacklist now awaits the winner between Deus Vult and See You Soon which will tangle later in the day. The winner of the lower bracket semis will take on the loser of the upper bracket finals duel between Onic Esports and AP Bren. 

—Bea Micaller/JKC, GMA Integrated News