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| (Image Source: Rappler/ESL One) |
Following their monumental run in The International 2019 last August in
China and a surprising roster shuffle, premiere Philippine professional gaming team
TNC Predator put on an amazing showcase of prowess despite doubts and mixed reactions
from their fans and bested eleven other top caliber teams to conquer the ESL
One Hamburg 2019. On the other hand, a fast-rising squad bound for the 2019
Southeast Asian Games as part of the Philippine national eSports team SIBOL snagged
the ESL Clash of Nations Bangkok 2019 championship crown after their aggressive
dominance in the lower bracket.
After The International 2019, TNC Predator has undergone a roster
shuffle with the news that Damien "Kpii" Chok and Park
"March" Tae-Won officially joined the team to fill in the gap left by
Carlo "Kuku" Palad and Nick "eyyou" Barcelon. It brought a wave
of doubts and questions from fans who want to have the team to feature an
all-Filipino lineup, but those clouds have steadily disappeared after ESL One
Hamburg 2019. Though it is not part of the DOTA 2 Pro Circuit, the event was
participated by some of the finest DOTA 2 teams across the globe including The
International 2019 5th-6th placer Vici Gaming, Team Liquid, Alliance and Ninjas
In Pajamas among others.
TNC started their campaign in Hamburg with an almost perfect run in the
group stages only to be stopped by Wind and Rain which managed to run away with
a 1-1 draw, but it didn't hinder the squad as it looked more unstoppable during
the playoffs booking a slot in the grand finals without dropping a single round
against Alliance in the first upper bracket round and Gambit eSports in the
upper bracket finals. Thus, TNC was considered a force to be reckoned with in
Hamburg. On the other hand, Gambit Gaming was able to dominate the lower
bracket after surviving Alliance and secure their own revenge encounter against
TNC in the best-of-five series grand finals.
During the grand finals, Gambit eSports was able to stretch the series
with utter obliteration towards their opponents with a double-digit kill score
advantage but not enough to vanquish the mighty TNC Predator after the final
game in the series when March handed Armel "Armel" Tabios the highly-contested
Alchemist partnered by lane dominators such as Kpii's Abaddon and Khim
"Gabbi" Villafuerte's BristleBack. Game 5 resulted in a lopsided
34,025 gold lead match in favor of the eventual ESL One Hamburg 2019 champions.
With the victory, TNC Predator will be waiting for the MDL Chengdu Major, the first
Major tournament of the 2019-2020 DOTA 2 Pro Circuit, with ESL One Hamburg's
grand cash prize of US$125,000 in the bag.
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| Team Adroit receiving their ESL Clash of Nations Bangkok 2019 trophy after defeating BOOM eSports of Indonesia in the finals. (Image Source: Cebu Daily News via ESL Asia) |
Team Adroit, the ESL Clash of Nations Bangkok 2019 champions, may seem
like a team with a harmless rookie aura but some of its members have their fair
share in the development of the Philippines' highly-competitive DOTA 2 scene.
In fact, little did we know until now that Jun "Bok" Kanehara and
Marvin "Boomy" Rushton were once part of a team that placed Visayas
in the local competitive gaming map. Adrift's run in the Clash of Nations from
the group stages all the way to the finals is, without question, a substantial
caveat of what's to come in the upcoming 30th SEA Games eSports competition on
December since the event presented an Olympic-style tournament format
participated by up-and-coming DOTA 2 teams from Southeast Asia, Australia and
India.
