TNC Predator have had a mixed 2020 run in online Dota 2 competitions. After a tough final series against Team Dog at BTS Pro Series Season 4, they are back on top in Southeast Asia.
It was a long road to claim their second title of 2020, but TNC managed to overcome the stacked Team Dog roster in a 3-2 final series to complete the BTS run.
TNC were the top finishers in the group stage, going a clean 11-3 overall to secure a top seed in the playoffs. They took down Fnatic for a second time in the first round but ran into a solid wall as Evil Geniuses’ SEA duo Abed Yusop and Daryl “iceiceice” Pei Xiang sent them down the lower bracket.
In return, Kim “Gabbi” Villafuerte and his crew along with stand-in Ng Kee “ChYuan” Chyuan made quick work of a T1 roster that was powering through that lower bracket. They swept the upstart team 2-0 and made it to a rematch with Team Dog in the grand finals.
The series was a back-and-forth affair, with the first game being slightly in Team Dog’s favor until TNC stomped them in a teamfight and ran away with it.
Team Dog fought back and took commanding wins in games two and three, but TNC didn’t just slip away. In a decisive game four, Gabbi had a monster performance on Morphling in combination with Armel “Armel” Tabios’s signature Invoker and a Damien “kpii” Chok Brewmaster that opened things up.
From there, TNC stole the momentum, taking the 43-minute win and then rolling to a 25-minute victory in game five to win the entire event.
With this win, TNC will return home with $21,000 and end their 2020 campaign on a high note after struggling early on. With this core, the SEA giant will continue looking for the last piece to turn themselves into a true contender ahead of the Dota Pro Circuit returning on Jan. 28.
Published: Dec 20, 2020 06:44 pm