Blacklist Rivalry secured their spot in the Riyadh Masters 2024, a prestigious $5,000,000 Dota 2 tournament in Saudi Arabia, by defeating Talon Esports 2-1 in the Southeast Asia closed qualifiers on Sunday.

Led by captain Abed “Abed” Yusop, the all-Pinoy team will enter the main event as a play-in seed from the Southeast Asian region. Blacklist’s journey to triumph was a challenging one, as they had to fight their way through the lower bracket after an early 2-0 loss to Bleed Esports.

Undeterred, Abed and his squad overcame formidable opponents, defeating IHC Esports, Neon Esports, a resurgent TNC Predator, and ultimately, Eljohn “Akashi” Andales and Talon in the final match.

Blacklist will join Team Aurora as Southeast Asia’s representatives in the Riyadh Masters. In contrast, North American team Shopify Rebellion, featuring Pinoy imports Erin Jasper “Yopaj” Ferrer and Andrei Gabriel “skem” Ong, failed to advance. The squad, led by Artour “Arteezy” Babaev, fell 3-2 to nouns in the North American qualifiers.