Blacklist International cuts ties with Lunatix amid team mishandling reports

MANILA, Philippines — Blacklist International has terminated its partnership with Malaysian esports organization Team Lunatix a day after mismanagement reports of Blacklist Lunatix, both organizations' Mobile Legends Bang Bang Development League (MDL) team, surfaced online.

"After going through an internal investigation, Blacklist International has decided to terminate our partnership with the Lunatix organization, effective immediately. We will also be taking over the management of the MDL team from today until the end of the season," Blacklist International said in a statement posted online.

Spin.ph broke the news after the MDL team's manager Eviann Balquin revealed that Lunatix had not fulfilled its end of the partnership — paying for the players' salaries and providing for food expenses.

There had been a time that they did receive funds from the Malaysian organization, but it only amounted to P2,500 that Balquin was supposed to budget for the team's food expenses for an entire month.

Fearing for the welfare of the players, Balquin and the rest of the team's management reported their issues with MDL's operations team as well as to Moonton, Mobile Legends Bang Bang's developer.

MDL Philippines has also released a statement on the ongoing issue.

"We are aware of the situation concerning Blacklist Lunatix, and are currently investigating this issue. All teams are encouraged to prioritize player welfare to ensure that they are given the best platform to pursue professional esports growth. MDL Philippines is a development league that seeks to provide a safe space and opportunity for players to thrive, and are reaching out to the affected parties accordingly." said the league's statement.

This isn't the first time that Team