Filipinos get early boot in Honor of Kings World Cup
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines' bid for international glory in the Honor of Kings World Cup (KWC) 2026 came to an early end after Blacklist International, Boom Esports and Titan Esports Club were all eliminated in the group stages.
The eliminations thus extend the country's wait for a breakthrough performance on the global stage.
Reigning Philippines Kings League (PKL) Spring 2026 champion Boom fell to Indonesia's Team Nemesis in Group D, dropping to the lower bracket. Boom managed to keep its tournament run alive after defeating Taiwanese squad Deep Cross Gaming, but a rematch against Team Nemesis for the group's final playoff berth saw the Filipino squad unable to adjust as it bowed out of the tournament.
In Group B, Titan Esports Club suffered back-to-back losses against Malaysia's Aurora Gaming and Brazil's Influence Rage, resulting in an early group-stage exit.
The last remaining Filipino team, Blacklist International, delivered the deepest run among the country's representatives. The Codebreakers were forced to go through the play-in stage, where they opened their campaign with a loss against Deep Cross Gaming. Blacklist quickly recovered, however, taking down OG Esports and Nongshim RedForce to secure a spot in the group stage.
Seeded in Group A, Blacklist opened its main stage campaign with a 2-0 sweep of Brazilian team MIBR.LOS to advance to the upper bracket final. Waiting for them was defending world champion AG.AL, which handed the Filipinos a 0-2 defeat and sent them down to the lower bracket.
With a playoff berth on the line, Blacklist faced Team Vitality in the lower bracket final. The Filipinos managed to force a deciding game but ultimately fell short, 1-2, ending the country's final hopes of reaching the knockout stage.
The group stage exit marks another disappointing finish for Philippine teams in the Honor of Kings World Cup. Last year, Boom was the lone Filipino squad to survive past its opening elimination match before eventually finishing in the bottom half of the standings, while Blacklist International came into this year's tournament after qualifying through the play-ins and posting the country's best result.
All three teams now turn their attention to the PKL Fall Season, where they will look to secure another opportunity to represent the Philippines in the Honor of Kings International Championship later this year.
- Latest
- Trending
