The ONE Esports Dota 2 SEA League officially kicked off yesterday with two best-of-two group stage matches. In the first match, NEW Esports tied with Team Adroit 1-1, while in the second match, T1 swept Execration 2-0.

NEW Esports 1 – 1 Team Adroit

In the first series of the tournament, NEW Esports stunned Team Adroit in game one with key performances from Hsien Wan “LaNcE” Fua and Yi Liong “ddz” Kok.

NEW Esports surprised their opponents by avoiding John Anthony “Natsumi-” Vargas’s Dragon Knight power spike, while LaNcE’s Nature’s Prophet and ddz’s Luna quickly burst down Adroit’s heroes.

In game two, Adroit managed to tie the series by nullifying NEW Esports’ Morphling and Earthshaker combo with Natsumi’s Troll Warlord, establishing his dominance during pivotal team fights.

T1 2 – 0 Execration

In the second series of the day, T1 outclassed their opponents with a coordinated group effort, causing XctN to struggle for the entire night.

T1 dominated the laning phase of game one and never looked back. Wilson “Poloson” Koh Chin Wei’s support Earthshaker even managed to farm his blink dagger at the 13-minute mark of game one.

XctN went for a hail mary play by getting a Divine Rapier on Jinn Marrey “Palos” Lamatao’s Bloodseeker, but was easily controlled by T1’s support heroes who stayed in the backlines.

Galvin “Meracle” Kang Jian Wen’s Terrorblade finished the first game with a 16/2/10 KDA record, while Muhammad “inYourdreaM” Rizky’s mid lane Invoker put together a 12/2/18 KDA score.

In the final game of the day, T1’s Luna and Vengeful Spirit core lineup proved too much for XctN as their Ursa, Vengeful Spirit, and Mars core trio lacked the damage to win pivotal team fights.

With Lee “Forev” Sang-don’s Kunkka using his Ghostship ultimate that provides Rum buffs, specifically the 40% damage reduction effect on Meracle’s Luna, XctN was unable to withstand T1’s team fight pressure.

The ONE Esports Dota 2 SEA League group stage action continues today, as Execration goes head-to-head with Team Adroit at 6:00 p.m. GMT+8, while New Esports will face off against T1 in the second series of the day, which starts at 8:00 p.m. GMT+8.

READ MORE: 5 players to look out for at the ONE Esports Dota 2 SEA League