A method and apparatus for generating a merge candidate list for encoding or decoding of a video sequence includes determining a first candidate block that includes a vertical position above a top edge of a current block, and that includes a horizontal position adjacent to a horizontal center of the current block. A second candidate block is determined that includes a horizontal position that is located to a left side of a left edge of the current block and a vertical position adjacent to a vertical center of the current block. The merge candidate list is generated using the first candidate block and the second candidate block to permit the encoding or the decoding of the video sequence.