It does actually work really great. With old sites going down from time to time and DMCA requests making it difficult to find new piracy sites via search engines, having a list is very convenient.
How does that work, when the websites on those lists don't work in your country?
VPN
People who need to use that list of blocked websites usually have no idea of VPNs. And vide versa. People used to VPNs already know the pirate sites and don't need that list.
I think you are underestimating the popularity of VPNs these days, just watching a YouTube video for "regular" people will have NordVPN, ExpressVPN ads on them advertising them as good for "privacy" or watching Netflix while you are on vacation. It's not a technology only accessible to nerds for a long time.
Thats the misconception i was talking about. Unless you are traveling the high seas regularly, you will sooner or later get into the situation, that you come back and all your links are dead.