After the dust settled on the ESL One Stockholm 2022. It was time to check in with the Dota 2 SEA Tour 3 Division I and II Overview – Week 1.
After the teams in Southeast Asia could not show their prowess during ESL One Stockholm 2022, they will try to do that in the upcoming Major. However, before we get the chance to watch the PGL Arlington Major 2022, we have to keep an eye on the DPC.
The first week in SEA was fun, and some results definitely surprised us. There were a few close series, so let’s go through them in this article. Make sure to watch some highlights because there were a couple of matches that were incredibly fun.
Division I
Polaris Esports vs Talon Esports
One of the series that many of us wanted to watch was between Talon Esports and Polaris Esports. Normally, Mc Nicholson “Mac” Villanueva and the rest should be the favorites because Talon is one of the teams from Division II. However, if you check its draft, you will find loads of famous names, which make it the favorite.
Although Polaris had a good start, Talon won the first map relatively quickly. Ember and Mars work well together, and judging by what happened, Talon Esports had a lot of experience with them.
The ex-Division II team got the needed net worth advantage, and once they’ve purchased a few items, they became too strong for their opponents. Hence, Polaris used the GG call.
Game 2
After losing game one, Polaris made the necessary changes and picked Furion and Nature’s Prophet. The turtle draft paid off because the team controlled the game and equalized the series.
Talon tried to use their Tiny and Bloodseeker combo to secure early kills and use it to snowball. However, Polaris played well and prevented this from happening. In the end, the team won the match and pushed the series into a game three.
Game 3
With Storm Spirit and Medusa on their side, Talon Esports won the decisive map and secured its team a significant victory. Polaris had the more aggressive draft because the team picked QoP. Needless to say, they’ve used the hero to their full advantage and killed Enchantress several times.
However, the team’s damage was not enough to stop Medusa and Storm Spirit. Once the two heroes got a couple of items, they became too strong and allowed their team to win.
Fnatic vs NGX.SEA
The second series in Division I that was way more interesting to watch than expected was between Fnatic and NGX.SEA. Everyone expected Marc Polo Luis “Raven” Fausto and the rest to dominate, but this was not the case.
Despite Fnatic’s stable draft in the first game of the series, the team was unable to cope with NGX’s hyper-aggressive lineup. The team had four cores in its draft, which was a good idea against Medusa. As expected, the team played very aggressively early on, and the only reason they didn’t win faster was because of Fnatic’s turtling capabilities.
In the end, NGX.SEA needed just 42 minutes to take the lead in the series.
Game 2
After losing the first map, Fnatic decided to step up their game and pick some of the best heroes in the current meta. Interestingly, the team rolled out Legion Commander, a hero that hasn’t been that popular lately.
This game was 50 minutes long, so it probably doesn’t come as a surprise, there were loads of interesting moments. Vincent “AlaCrity” Hiew Teck Yoong and the rest tried to use another aggressive lineup. This time, they had Night Stalker and Puck, two heroes that can snowball really quickly.
With that being said, Fnatic’s draft allowed them to give enough time to their cores to become too powerful to deal with. Although Storm Spirit did not have the best game, CK and LC played well and carried their team to victory.
Game 3
The last game of the match was as fascinating as the second one. Aside from Fnatic’s signature mid KOTl, we also saw the depute of Marcy, one of the newest heroes in Dota 2. NGX.SEA decided to surprise their opponents by picking her.
Even though the hero definitely caught Fnatic’s draft by surprise, Marcy was not powerful enough to defeat Armel Paul “Armel” Tabios’s powerful KOTL. Fnatic gained a substantial lead 15 minutes after the start and kept it until the end. The team was unable to win earlier because NGX.SEA turtled for more than 30 minutes.
In the end, Fnatic’s heroes became too powerful, and the team defeated its opponents.
Division II
TNC vs Summit Gaming
The very first match in SEA’s Division II was between TNC and Summit Gaming. Once one of the best in the region, TNC Predator went through loads of roster changes. As a result, the team dropped to Division II, where it has to fight for its survival.
Despite being the favorites, Yuri Dave “Yowe” Pacaña and the rest lost the series. Interestingly, the team won the first match after picking Enigma and Storm Spirit. It was not easy, but Yowe and the rest turned the game around and secured themselves the lead.
Following the loss, Summit picked almost the same draft as in game one. However, the team didn’t make the same mistakes and ripped through TNC’s draft. This pushed the series into a final game three.
The last match was the most interesting because both teams had chances of winning. However, Summit Gaming’s draft was more suited for the late game, which is why the team won the encounter.
Neon Esports vs Army Geniuses
The second series that we were eager to watch was between Neon Esports and Army Geniuses. Most of us expected NE to win because of Wong “ChuaN” Hock Chuan. However, the team had no chance because AG won both games with little to no effort.
Besides the fact that the first map was more intriguing to watch, we had the chance to see Pudge in action. Old-school Dota 2 players probably remember the days when Danil “Dendi” Ishutin used to play the hero in professional games. Sadly, he hasn’t been a popular pick for many years.
It seems like Pudge caught their enemies by surprise because AG played very well. After just 38 minutes of play, the team won the first map.
The second game was even easier for AG because the team had NS and KOTL. The extra vision allowed the team to play aggressively, preventing Neon from getting the needed farm on TA and Storm.
