Justine “Juschie” Tan began pursuing esports when he was just 15 years old.
Competing professionally in League of Legends, then Wild Rift, he is now Blacklist International’s jungler in Honor of Kings.
Playing online games is something that he enjoys doing with friends, from Counter-Strike to Dota 2. When his friends invited him to compete in League of Legends tournaments, his passion for esports ignited — he chose to balance schoolwork alongside going pro, a decision his family initially didn’t support.
One key person in the Filipino esports scene, however, very quickly changed their minds. In an exclusive interview with ONE Esports at Honor of Kings Invitational Season 3, Juschie shares his esports journey and offers an inside look at Blacklist International’s Honor of Kings team.
Blacklist International’s Juschie is their jungler, leader, and big brother
Now eight years into his professional esports career, Juschie appreciates that his family has a better understanding of the esports scene. His grandma even came down in person to SM City North EDSA, Quezon City, where the Honor of Kings Invitational Season 3 was held.
When Juschie first played MOBA, he was flexible in all roles. But when he and his friends got serious and decided to compete in local League of Legends tournaments in Manila, they asked him to be the jungler.
He made an effort to expand his jungle pool and fell in love with the role which he later took on in Wild Rift and now Honor of Kings.
Switching to a mobile MOBA was a pivotal moment in Juschie’s esports career, as it also changed the way his family perceived him.
“Naser ‘Akosi Dogie’ Mollazehi asked me to join his team in Wild Rift. I informed them that Dogie wants me, and they were shocked because Dogie is really popular. I think that’s a big help. Because of that, my family started supporting me,” Juschie told ONE Esports.
However, due to the changing esports landscape, Blacklist International sought to explore other titles, which is when they offered him a chance to switch MOBAs.
Juschie took a leap of faith and started to enjoy Honor of Kings. Now captain, shotcaller, and the oldest member on the team, he led them to a 3rd-4th place finish at the invitational.
“In League of Legends and Wild Rift, if you’re a jungler, you need to gank and get an early game lead for your team. But in Honor of Kings, it’s different. You need to farm first. You’re not handling the early game. In the mid game, that’s where you need to shine,” Juschie reflected on the similarities and differences of being a jungler in these MOBAs.
Two teammates were formerly part of Blacklist’s Wild Rift team while another two were new. Joined by head coach Gerald Gianne Gelacio, they have breakfast every day together in the team house. After that, players solo rank for one to two hours then head into scrims for the afternoon. After dinner, their second scrim block starts, after which it’s free time.
Juschie shared that Blacklist International’s internal team dynamics are based on trust and openness, and that everyone “communicates well with each other.” Players are encouraged to share their opinions and if disagreements really can’t be resolved, the coach steps in.
The one thing they do have in common is how they study Honor of Kings — by watching the King Pro League (KPL), the longest-running HOK league in China. “If the KPL teams do something and a player finds it interesting, they’ll share it with the rest. We’ll try it in scrims and if it works, we adapt it. If not, then we don’t, ” said Juschie.
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