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Michelle Lojo - Philstar.com
March 2, 2025 | 9:55am
Members of Blacklist International salute the crowd during the Honor of Kings Invitational Season 3 at The Block Atrium at SM North Edsa.
Honor of Kings
MANILA Philippines — Filipino teams Elevate and Blacklist International both fell to South Korea's Nongshim RedForce in the Honor of Kings Invitational Season 3 Playoffs at The Block Atrium at SM North Edsa in Quezon City.
Fighting back from a 0-2 deficit, the Codebreakers opened the playoffs with a 4-2 win against wildcard winners, Impunity Esports from Myanmar, to advance to the next round. Meanwhile, fellow Philippine bet Elevate were poised to set up an all-Filipino semifinals as they took a 3-2 lead against Nongshim RedForce, but the South Korean squad was able to force a decider.
Though Elevate led Game 7, Nongshim RedForce used the Shadow Tyrant as bait for Min “Kyoung9” Kyoung-hyeon to sneak to the Filipino base and secure the series, 3-4.
In the semifinals, it seemed that Blacklist International was booking a quick ticket to the grand finals after taking an early 3-0 lead, only for Nongshim RedForce to secure a three-map win of their own to once again force a deciding match against a Filipino team.
In the Ultimate Battle, with both teams drafting blind, it was the South Korean squad that advanced to the grand finals.
"I think we made a lot of mistakes in the game. Like rushing things. We didn't play clean. It was a compulsive error. All of a sudden, we didn't do anything. Yeah, it wasn't a good result,” said Blacklist International's coach Gerald "Tgee" Gelacio.
Though they weren't able to reach the top two, Gelacio could also sing his squad praises with how far the team has come in less than a year playing Honor of Kings.
"I think it's pretty good for us already. It's a big achievement for us to be in the top 4 in this tournament. In the HOK Championship back in [October, we were] 7th palace So, we're still going up. We [only] played this game only for almost 8-9 months. So, it's still very good,” he added.
Nongshim RedForce finally fell to Malaysia's NOVA Esports in the grand finals as Honor of Kings gears up for its updated esports calendar, which includes seven regional leagues, with one being the local Philippines King's League set to begin in April.
