Credit to MPL Philippines. 

MANILA (UPDATED) - The MPL Season 14 off-season did not lack tension, as Blacklist International underwent a massive exodus, and most of its standouts, and some core staff flocked to Aurora Gaming.

Aurora Gaming is MPL Philippines' newest team, replacing Minana EVOS, which was headed by Julius "Banoobs" Mariano. 

Now under Blacklist International,  Banoobs hit the move, accusing the Serbian organization of poaching players, which includes his former player Jan "Domeng" Delmundo, and later on saying Blacklist will not accept them should they choose to go back, when asked hypothetically by the press. 

"There's no turning back from this. Laban kami kung laban pero if there's an opportunity na babalik, yung door is not yet closed pero parang ex lang e. Babalikan mo ba?" Banoobs, who had been announced as Blacklist’s MLBB operations chief in the off-season, told the press. 

Aurora, however, would get the last laugh against Blacklist on the Land of Dawn, with a convincing 2-0 win in their MPL Philippines debut.

READ: Aurora thrashes new-look Blacklist in MPL Philippines debut

With Aurora asked for their side on Banoobs' statement, Renejay "Renejay" Bacarse said Banoobs shouldn’t be the one to judge the situation, banking on words that Blacklist International CEO Tryke Gutierrez himself said the doors were still open for them to return.

"Una, hindi ko pa po nakakasama si  Banoobs, so hindi ko po talaga siya kilala. So kung nasaktan man po siya, wala po siyang karapatan  na masaktan kasi hindi naman po siya yung ano hindi naman po siya yung kasama naming nung time na yon and 'yung  CEO naming si Boss Tryke nag usap po kami  sabi niyang lagi pong bukas ang pinto para sa amin so kung ako mas kukuha ng  lakas ng loob kay Boss Tryke," Renejay said.

In a now-deleted comment, Banoobs alleged that Renejay connived with Aurora PH Esports Director Elrasec "Rada" Ocampo, who served as Blacklist's General Manager for the longest time, DEX STAR, and Aniel "MasterTheBasics" Jiandani to acquire Jan "Domeng" Delmundo from Minana EVOS.

He later on blasted Renejay, for his alleged refusal to recognize that he managed Nexplay, where Renejay started his roots as a professional player.

Off-season chaos

During the off-season, Blacklist International announced the departure of stars Edward "Edward" Jay Dapadap, Renejay "Renejay" Bacarse, Kenneth "Yue" Tadeo and the iconic duo of Johnmar "OhMyV33nus" Villaluna and Danerie James "Wise" Del Rosario.

Two of Blacklist's former coaches, Aniel "MasterTheBasics" Jiandani and Dexter "DEX STAR" Alaba also made their move to Aurora Gaming.

The V33wise tandem took on  esports content direction roles, while  Edward "Edward" Jay Dapadap, Renejay "Renejay" Bacarse, and Kenneth "Yue" Tadeo assumed roles in the roster's main five.

Gutierrez publicly criticized the lack of transparency towards Blacklist's move on social media,  who still have six months left in their contracts by the time of the transfer.

"Hindi ko na-feel na tinraydor ako. Ang na-feel ko is sana sinabihan po ako. Hindi nung mga players ko, kung hindi nung mga taong kumausap sa kanila," Gutierrez shared in a Facebook live, while Banoobs later added that Aurora also approached his players in MPL Season 14.

He also added that V33wise still received their salary despite their absence from the MPL Philippines lineup.

MPL Philippines, however, said Aurora complied with anti-poaching measures. V33wise would later on fire back, adding that this policy was stated on their contract, and was applicable to all of the team's members.

"Una nasa kontrata namin na required na pasahurin kami. Kumbaga sabihin natin hindi nila kami pasahurin kasi rest kami, e di breach of contract na. Kung breach of contract na, ibig sabihin wala na kami sa Blacklist," she shared in a six-hour live late-July.

The MPL Philippines Hall of Legends inductee also added that Tier One gets a huge share of their earnings from sponsorship deals, which OhMyV33nus says were acquired knowing her and Wise's value to Blacklist at the time. However, she also emphasized that she and Wise remain thankful to Tier One for revitalizing their careers.

Gutierrez would later on apologize in a separate video.