Dota 2
Here's a recap of everything that went down in Week 3 of the 2023 SEA DPC.
As always, Southeast Asia is one of the most interesting regions in Dota 2. With three slots for the Major, we had to wait until the last week to learn which three teams would advance to the main event. Speaking of teams, the best in the region, teams like BOOM and Fnatic, haven’t had their best couple of weeks and lost multiple series, which allowed others to shine.
With that said, the third week in SEA is now over, which means we know the names of those that will head over to the Major. Unsurprisingly, the series was more than interesting to watch, so let’s learn what happened. Don’t forget to check our Week 2 recap if you want to know more about the results from the previous week.
BOOM defeated SMG in an important grudge match
Team SMG and BOOM were two of the main favorites before the start of the 2023 SEA DPC. However, after they failed to show their prowess in Weeks 1 and 2, both teams had problems. Lucky for Yopaj and the rest, the team won this very important series, which means that they avoided the bottom two spots.
Despite winning, the victory didn’t come easy for BOOM because the team lost their first game. Interestingly, the SEA powerhouse tried using Chen, a hero that hasn’t received much love lately. Although he helped them in the early game, in the end, SMG had a better draft and won the map.
For better or worse, the team wasn’t able to win the second map, despite picking an interesting Storm and Magnus setup. MidOne and the rest had several good moments but this wasn’t enough for them to defeat their opponents. This took the series to game three!
As expected, the third match between these two powerhouses in the DPC 2023 SEA was even more intriguing than the previous two. After around 50 minutes of play, BOOM’s draft with Arc Warden and Nature’s Prophet successfully defeated SMG's powerful Shadow Fiend. Even though BOOM had a few risky moments, the team eventually defeated their opponents and won an important match.
Execration won two matches
There is no arguing that Execration is one of the biggest surprises in the 2023 DPC so far. The team has risen from the ashes and is ripping through their enemies in Southeast Asia. After two very dominating weeks, it was time for the roster to secure their place at the Major.
Despite being the underdogs, XctN won both matches of the week. The first one was against Bleed Esports and it allowed us to watch two epic maps. The first one was almost one hour long and oh boy was it fun to watch. Bleed tried using their signature Omniknight draft that allowed them to win several series. As for Execration, the team used Ember and Sniper, two greedy cores.
Despite the need to farm a lot, Execration secured enough space for their cores to shine. It wasn’t easy but Palos and Co eventually won the first map and secured themselves the lead in the series.
After winning the first match, Execration continues to dominate in the second game of the series. This time, they’ve used the popular Puck and NP pick and successfully countered Bleed’s deadly Ursa. After 44 minutes of play, Execration won and secured themselves a very important victory.
The series against Fnatic
The last match for Tour 1 Division I of the 2023 SEA DPC for Xctn was against Fnatic. Even though Armel and his team were the big favorites to win this DPC, the team have tons of problems and it will head to Division II. Sadly, they weren’t able to defeat their motivated opponents and lost yet another series.
Even though this series was not in Fnatic’s favor, the team actually won the first map. What’s even more surprising is that Gabbi and his men played for around 78 minutes, which was one of the longest games in the DPC so far.
Despite losing this very long and annoying game, XctN didn’t give up and defeated their opponents in the second and third matches. Interestingly, Bob and his team got a similar draft for the second map and something completely different for the third one.
Speaking of Game 3, we got the chance to see Spectre in action, a hero that isn’t that popular in SEA. Although the late-game monster had to play against Lina, which is the best carry in the current meta, Execration won and confirmed their Major slot. This will be the team’s first big tournament since they secured a slot for TI many years ago.
BOOM and Fnatic are out of Division I, Talon, Geek and Execration will advance forward.
Prior to the beginning of the 2023 SEA DPC, everyone expected BOOM and Fnatic to have little to no problems and win every match. However, three weeks later, both teams failed to live up to the expectations and moved to Division II. This news is shocking, to say the least, considering that both squads played at TI just a few months ago.
The tiebreaker matches decided the final team that will be joining Execration and Geek Slate. After an epic battle, Talon Esports won the match against Blacklist International and secured third place in Division I.
Even though they gave it everything they had, Blacklist International, Team SMG and Bleed Esports will remain in the 2023 SEA DPC Division I for Tour 2. It will be interesting to see if these squads will step up their game in the upcoming Tour.
