ONIC ID vs Blacklist International

Oh boy, what’s this, an early final match? Day 2 kicks off with an incredible matchup between the MPL PH S8 champions and MPL ID S8 champions.

On paper, Blacklist is struggling after they were sent down to the lower bracket by BTK. Their code has been hacked, with a very well-prepared strategy by BTK. They fell off when ohmyv33nus’s key heroes were banned multiple times.

On the contrary, ONIC ID looked strong after defeating Team SMG 2-0. A convincing victory indeed, because they are not making any mistakes and played really well. The power from ONIC comes from the draft and of course the versatility of their players. We saw the first appearance at M3 of Belerick and Claude, and it worked like a charm for ONIC.

Players to watch

Watch the gold lane where CW will play against Oheb. Oheb has been Blacklist’s star player with how well he farms the gold lane.

My fantasy predictions

This game is going to be a close call, with Blacklist’s roamer healer style vs going up against ONIC’s aggressive style If I have to place my bet on someone, I will say it will be a 2-1 for ONIC, based on their performance at MPLI and their performance against Team SMG. I see ONIC getting the most kills because they are really aggressive, and Blacklist plays more defensively.

Bedel vs Keyd Stars

Each of the teams that have fallen from the top bracket into the lower bracket have not been playing well. Bedel fell to the lower bracket after losing to EVOS SG, and while it looked like they could have taken game three, fortune was not on their side.

Bedel’s playstyle is quite unpredictable, and they’ve used a lot of pocket strats so far.

Keyd on the other hand, easily defeated GX Squad with a convincing 2 – 0. Will they keep using the same strats they showed us in the group stage? Remember they even beat ONIC ID in the group stage thanks to Luizz in the gold laner, and a quick tempo.

Players to watch

From Keyd it’s got to be Luizz, especially when you look at his potential using Lunox. And for Bedel, look out for Paranoid.

My fantasy predictions

We have yet to see Keyd’s full potential, but I hope we see it today because pocket strats can only be used and they already used a lot of them in the group stage, such as when they used Fanny. In my opinion, I think Keyd takes the win here, and I also think Keyd will take the most kills.

NAVI vs RSG

While Navi defeated Malvinas, I was unconvinced, as they committed many blunders such as not playing objectives, and going for a greedy draft in game two, which they then lost.

Fortunately, they managed to take game three and advance in the tournament.

On the other hand, while RSG fell to the lower bracket after a 0-3 loss, ONIC PH are one of the absolute favorites for the tournament, so I won’t hold it against them.

Players to watch

Look out for RSG’s ly4ly4ly4. He’s a veteran player who can carry his team to victory under the right circumstances. For Navi, look out for Sawo, who the team mostly relies on to initiate engagements.

My fantasy predictions

This one is quite clear to me, Navi has been drafting poorly, and their playstyle is always based on taking team fights. I don’t think that’s going to work much longer, so I’ll pick RSG as the winner, and I believe they’ll get the most kills too.

See You Soon vs TODAK

See you soon showed their full strength in the lower bracket with a 2 – 0 win over RED Canids. They looked very convincing with a strong draft, objective play, and early pressure from Boxi. The only negative I saw from See You Soon is when they have the early lead, they tend to make small mistakes such as overdives or taking unbalanced exchanges.

For Todak, 4meys is very strong on Lancelot, as we saw when they picked up a surprising win in the group stage against ONIC ID. They’re a team that capitalizes on the small mistakes of their opponents, and they also have the experience, having played at the last two M championships as well.

Players to watch

See You Soon’s BOXI is a star. Look for him to zone out the opponent and make some big plays to try to secure an early lead. Meanwhile, from Todak, watch out for 4meys.

My fantasy predictions

I feel like See You Soon makes too many small mistakes, while Todak is a lot more reliable, so I’m picking Todak to win this one, and to get the most kills.

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