Dota 2
Aside from Eastern Europe, Tour 2 is almost done in every other Dota 2 region. SEA is the latest region that has determined which teams will advance to the Major and those that will have to compete in Division II.
We had 28 clashes in the last six weeks and many of them were amazing to watch. In the end, Fnatic and BOOM Esports are the teams that will represent SEA in the upcoming ESL One Stockholm 2022. Each of them only lost one series, so they deserve to be among the best in the world.
Before we get the chance to watch the top teams from every region, it is time to take one last look at SEA. This article will focus on each of the last three series from Week 6, so let’s go over a few important things.
Neon Esports vs Nigma Galaxy SEA
The first match of the week was between NGX.SEA and Neon. The latter lost their first match in Division I against Fnatic, but after winning one of the games, we expected the team to do well. Unfortunately, it lost almost all of its matches, which is why it will join Execration in Division II.
We expected the first game to go in favor of NGX.SEA because they had Templar Assassin and Chaos Knight. Although the SEA powerhouse gained a slight lead after the laning stage and the mid game, they made a lot of crucial mistakes.
Despite the significant lead, several bad fights gave Neon’s Medusa a massive advantage, which made her almost unkillable. In the end, Philip "Asta丶" Joshua Torres carried his team to victory and won the first game of the series.
Game two
Losing game one was painful because NGX.SEA was in the driving seat. Fortunately, the team did not make the same mistakes again and won the second map.
Unlike game one, where NGX had a massive lead, Neon played well and did not let their opponents gain an advantage. With that being said, Nigma’s Meepo and Terrorblade got a couple of items, which made them too strong, even for Neon’s Tiny.
After 35 minutes of play, NGX.SEA equalized the series.
Game three
In the last game of the series, NGX got their hands on Medusa, Brood, and TA, three of the best heroes in the current meta. Although Neon had Ember Spirit, it was clear that their opponents had a better draft.
The laning stage was pretty even, but NGX’s cores slowly gained a lead over Neon’s Luna once the mid game arrived. This got even worse for Neon once Templar Assassin got the Aegis.
In the end, NGX had over a 25k net worth lead, which was enough to win them the game.
Fnatic vs T1
The second match in SEA was the most anticipated one in Week 6, because Fnatic and T1 are among the best teams in the league. Although T1 was one of the favorites for the Major spot, the team was unable to achieve its goal. As for Fnatic, Marc Polo Luis "Raven" Fausto and co. won first place in Division I.
Game one had its interesting moments, but Fnatic had the better draft and won the match. The most interesting thing in the game was the team’s decision to put Keeper of the Light in the mid-lane. Their opponents definitely didn’t expect this, so it wasn’t surprising that Armel Paul "Armel" Tabios ripped through T1’s lineup.
We expect to see the Ethereal Blade-KOTL build used in pubs more often because Armel utilized the combo extremely well.
Game two
After the insanely-overpowered KOTL, Fnatic decided to use another trick - Arc Warden. This hero used to be a pain to deal with a couple of years ago, but he is not that popular lately.
The second game was a lot more intense than the first one because the game was not one-sided. Following the excellent start, T1 secured more than 7k net worth lead just 22 minutes after the start of the game.
We expected the game to end there, but Fnatic’s draft allowed them to turtle and delay the game for 30 minutes. In the end, T1 accumulated more than a 57k net worth advantage, which is one of the highest leads we’ve seen in this DPC. Needless to say, the team won the map and pushed the series into a game three.
Game three
Following the painful loss in game two, Fnatic rose from the ashes and won the match.
The third game of the series was not ideal for them. In fact, T1 got an early lead that gave their Necrophos and Medusa a solid advantage over their opponents’ cores. People thought that this game would end fast, but Fnatic turned things around after more than 40 minutes.
The team won the most important fight near Roshan 42 minutes after the start of the game, which allowed them to bounce back and kill the mighty Medusa. The hero had an almost 7k net worth advantage over Fnatic’s Drow Ranger.
After this fight, Fnatic became too strong to deal with and won the game several minutes later. This victory guaranteed the team’s first place in Division I.
BOOM Esports vs Team SMG
BOOM Esports is the second team that will represent SEA in Stockholm, so it wasn’t surprising that Erin Jasper "Yopaj" Ferrer and his team were the heavy favorites. With that being said, Team SMG did not go down without a fight.
The first game in the series saw a lot of back-and-forth action, including a couple of comebacks. Team SMG had a massive lead in the early and mid game, at least in terms of kills. However, BOOM’s Templar Assassin kept the team in the game and allowed it to make a comeback.
In the end, BOOM became too powerful for their opponents and won the first game.
Game two
BOOM got their hands on Medusa and Storm Spirit, two of their best heroes. However, SMG decided to roll out their Anti-Mage, a hero that they are known for. This forced BOOM to play against the clock.
The early and mid game were pretty even, but since BOOM did an excellent job against AM, Yeik "MidOne" Nai Zheng did not have as much farm as the opponent’s Medusa. BOOM continued to push their opponents so that they could force AM to play defensively.
It seems like this tactic paid off because Yopaj and co. gained a solid 11k net worth lead. A couple of minutes later, the team made one final push and destroyed their opponent’s throne.
After winning this game, BOOM has guaranteed itself a place among the best in Stockholm. We’ll see just how well the Southeast Asian teams will match up versus international competition in Sweden.
