Echo dethrones Blacklist International to seize M4 crown; Bennyqt hails

as the Finals MVP

By Aries Jade N. Refugio
With the Orcas emerged as the new world champions, Echo Esports using
their aggressive approach outbursted the defending Blacklist International with a
strong sweep in the finals series, 4-0, of M4 World Championships on January 15, at
Jakarta, Indonesia.

Echo was chasing a quest for revenge after falling over against the UBE
strategy of Blacklist in the upper bracket finals.

But Echo quickly learned from their mistakes as they ban out the signature
Estes of Ohmyv33nus in the whole finals, giving the titleholder a hardship series..

Blacklist had no trouble in game one hitting the important element for Echo,
Sanford committed two early deaths as a result of the frequent ganks in the exp lane
of Hadji and the Queen.

Entering the 7-minute mark of game one, Blacklist started to collapse after an
unfavorable three-to-nothing exchange given to Echo in the turtle fight putting them
into complete chaos.

Echo was forcing Blacklist to fall into bad positioning in every turtle skirmish
in-game two. While both teams having an exchange in the Lord dance, Bennyqt went
to a high-IQ play as he put the game to 2-0 after that backdoor push in the middle
lane for the win.

Blacklist had nothing to do with the shown sneaky playstyle of Echo, with the
San-San duo (Sanji-Sanford) taking the driver's seat, they produced 11 kills and 17
assists combined as Echo completely decoded the UBE strategy of Blacklist.

With his masterful skill playing at the gold lane, Bennyqt was awarded the
Finals MVP along with his first international title.

Despite missing a back-to-back title for Blacklist International, they also

wrote history for the only team that made a back-to-back finals appearance in the
tournament. Karltzy, on the other hand was the only player to achieve multiple
world-series title.
Paalam wins gold in ASBC Asian Elite tourney; PH grabs two more bronze
By Aries Jade N. Refugio

Carlo Paalam's counter-punching grant him a stunning victory after

dismantling top seed Makhmud Sabyrkhan of Kazakhstan, 4-1, via a split decision in
the finals to offer the nation a gold medal in the ASBC Asian Elite Boxing
Championships Saturday, November 12.

An Olympics silver medalist, Paalam outsmarted Sabyrkhan as he fights

defensively but still found a good few openings for an offensive fighter of
Kazakhstan.

"Sa likod ng aking tagumpay, taos-pusong pasasalamat ko po sa lahat ng

sumusuporta at nag-dasal sa akin simula sa aking laro hanggang sa makamit ko ang
gintong medalya," Paalam said on his Facebook post.

First round of the match, both sides were in a defensive stance, but the
Filipino boxer managed to unleash combinations of punches to stun Sabyrkhan and
secure the opening round with an identical 10-9.

"Gusto ko po mag-congratulate sa lahat ng Philippines teammates ko po na

sumali sa ASBC, lalo na kina Ate Nesthy at Hergie sa pagkamit ng bronze medal.
Patuloy po nating itaas ang bandera ng Pilipinas sa ating susunod na laban," he
wrote.

All in all, PH harvested three medals in the ASBC Asian Elite Boxing
Championships with an extra two bronze medals from Nesthy Petecio and Hergie
Bacyadan.
 Obiena notch an overall three golds in early season
By Aries Jade N. Refugio

Ernest John “Ej” Obiena played majestic in the Orlen Copernicus Cup as he
gained his second straight gold and third overall of the year at the Torun, Poland on
Wednesday, February 8.

The world’s No. 3 beast pole vaulter cleared the 5.87 to defend his title at the
Copernicus Cup.

In his second gold medal of the year, he leaped a 5.77m high to oust 11-
contenders at Orlen Cup 2023 at Lodz, Poland.

Meanwhile, he also gained his first gold of the year right after he placed
second in the Internationales Springer-Meeting in Cottbus, Germany.

Generally, he achieve five podium finishes in January to February alone.