The first week of Southeast Asia’s DPC has ended, and there were some big matches. You can learn more about them by checking out our recap, where we also cover some matches from SA.
The first week of the DPC was especially special for China. Aster secured three victories, meaning they will fight for a top 4 finish.
Week 2 of the 2023 DPC has ended, and we have many exciting results. SEA and China offered us many exciting games, so let’s review some of them.
Contents
Southeast Asia
The big names in Southeast Asia had little to no problems against their opponents during Week 2. Here’s an overview of some matches you should’ve paid attention to.
Talon defeated Polaris & SMG.
Talon Esports is currently the best squad in Southeast Asia, and its results prove it. After dominating at The Lima Major 2023, Talon won all three of its series during Week 1 of the tournament. It was no surprise when the team defeated Polaris in its first match of Week 2.
Even though Talon won the match, it was not an easy victory. Polaris gave it their all, especially during Game 1. The match lasted over 50 minutes, and it was exciting to watch because of the core heroes. While people expected Polaris to win due to their LC and TB picks, Talon’s Storm and Slark draft prevailed, leading to their victory in the first map.
For the second game, the two teams switched up their draft, but it did not allow Polaris to turn the tables. In an attempt to change things up, Akashi and the rest of the team tried something interesting by selecting both AM and TB in the same draft, but it did not work out in their favor.
The clash vs. SMG
After defeating Polaris, Talon Esports faced an even tougher challenge: the undefeated Team SMG. MidOne and the rest of the team have significantly improved their performance in Tour 2 and are now among the top contenders for the Tour 3 finish. As a result, the series became even more interesting to watch.
The two teams gave it their all, but in the end, Talon Esports proved more resilient and won the series 2:1. The first match was definitely the highlight, featuring a fantastic comeback. Although Talon looked like the favorite in the first game after picking Morphling and Zeus, Team SMG’s ES and MK draft somehow won the match and gave their team the lead.
The bad news for SMG was that their lead didn’t last long, as Talon needed just 28 minutes in Game 2 to equalize the match. Consequently, it was time for the deciding map between the two teams.
Although we expected Game 3 to be closer, Talon Esports once again proved that they are the best team in this region. SMG’s draft was excellent, but Talon’s IO and Storm setup left them with no chance of succeeding. In the end, 23savage and the rest of the team won the match in just 34 minutes.
China
The only region with 4 slots outside Western Europe gave us access to several intriguing matches. Unfortunately, most of them took place in the last days of Week 2, so here’s an overview of the things you may have missed out on.
Ybb dealt with Invictus Gaming.
The first major match of the 2023 DPC China Tour 2 Week 2 was between Invictus Gaming and Ybb. Both squads had lost their series in the first week, so this clash was crucial for both teams as a third loss could be devastating. However, despite both teams giving everything they had, Ybb emerged victorious after winning two maps.
This victory wasn’t easy as the first two games lasted almost an hour each. In a strange turn of events, despite having a much stronger draft, Ybb Gaming won the first map. Unfortunately, even Ember and Luna couldn’t carry iG to victory.
However, Emo and his team bounced back in the second game and won after 57 minutes of play. This match was an epic battle between Phantom Assassin and Terrorblade. Although the latter usually has an advantage, iG played better and equalized the game.
Sadly, even this impressive victory couldn’t save iG from losing the series. The squad failed to live up to expectations in the third game and lost the match.
Team Aster continues to be undefeated.
After winning three series during Week 1 of the 2023 DPC Tour 2 Division I in China, Team Aster had another successful week. Monet and his squad only played one series this time, but it wasn’t an easy one because the team had to face Vici Gaming.
Although Vici stepped up its game after the disappointing results, the team didn’t have enough firepower to bring down the mighty Team Aster. Consequently, the latter won the match after two quick games.
Both teams used similar drafts in both maps. In fact, Aster had the same 4-hero setup with BM, Enchantress, Tiny, and Disruptor, only swapping NP for Slark. On the other hand, Vici used Undying, Rubick, and Storm Spirit.
As expected, Aster’s draft allowed the team to control the early game in both maps and use it to snowball. Unfortunately, Vici couldn’t slow down the pace and get more farm for their cores, so Aster won after 41 minutes in Game 1 and 34 minutes in Game 2.
Other results
Aside from the games mentioned above, we saw several other interesting results. For example, Xtrehe Gaming won 2 matches and lost one, meaning they occupy 3rd place in Division I. PSG. On the other hand, LGD also continued its dominance and secured 4 victories.
We can’t wait to see what will happen in the last week of the 2023 DPC Tour 2 in China and Southeast Asia, so stay tuned for more details.
