Turkey's Bedel surprises, secures upper bracket slot after "3-way tie" fiasco

SINGAPORE (UPDATED) -- Blacklist International asserted its dominance to start the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang World Championships (M3) held at the Suntec Singapore Convention Centre, after sweeping the group stages, Monday.

Blacklist defeated Brazilian champs Red Canids, and qualifier champs Bedel (Turkey) and Malvinas Gaming (Peru), in three best-of-one games, en route to the first upper bracket slot.

Blacklist vs. Red Canids (Brazil)

Blacklist dominated Brazilian squad Red Canids to start its campaign. With his signature Mathilda, Johnmar "OhMyV33nus" Villaluna took the MVP recognition with a 2/1/14 kill-death-assist record and a 100-percent kill participation rate.

Applying pressure on the top lane, Blacklist disposed of the Brazilians in a rather long but dominant match in favor of the Philippine champs. Red Canids had some glimpses of shine, with Frost's crucial base defense around the 17:45 mark. But ultimately, it was Blacklist who dominated.

Blacklist vs. Bedel

Blacklist secured the solo top spot in Group A after thrashing Bedel.

Bedel was aggressive to start their showdown with Blacklist, with Paranoid's Fanny leading the way and leaving Blacklist to just a kill in the first three minutes.

But OHEB's Beatrix did wonders, going ham with 13 of Blacklist's 16 kills -- of which included a maniac or a kill on four of Bedel's heroes in succession -- en route to victory.

Blacklist vs. Malvinas Gaming (Peru/Latin America)

Blacklist went on to crush Peru's Malvinas Gaming, en route to the sweep -- as OHEB put on a show anew, securing the group stage sweep and the upper bracket spot.

Malvinas were kept to just three kills, as OHEB's Beatrix put on a clinic, with 7 kills, no deaths and four assists to his name.

In an interview with reporters, team captain Johnmar "OhMyV33nus" Villaluna said picking Beatrix was part of the plan. The gun-running hero was barred out of contention for the past few tournaments after it experienced a bunch of major bugs and was only open to pick now in M3.

With Blacklist securing the first upper bracket slot, the rest of the teams figured in a three-way tie ending the first round of matches. Red Canids defeated Malvinas to book a clash with the Turkish squad, but the Brazilians fell, with Bedel taking the last upper bracket slot.

Blacklist will face whoever finishes second in Group C's matches, which will be determined on Wednesday, December 8.

Blacklist International roster

• Edward Jay "EDWARD" Dapadap
• Danerie "Wise" James Del Rosario
• Dexstar "Dex Star" Louise Alaba
• Johnmar "OhMyV33NUS" Villaluna
• Kiel Calvin "OHEB" Soriano
• Mark Jayson "ESON" Gerardo
• Salic "Hadji" Imam