ONE Esports Dota 2 SEA League Day 3: T1 bounce back

Day 3 of the ONE Esports Dota 2 SEA League featured two exciting best-of-two group stage matches. The first match saw T1 outclassing Reality Rift, 2-0, followed by a 1-1 tie between Filipino squads TNC Predator and Team Adroit.

T1 2 – 0 Reality Rift

The first game of the day was a back-and-forth battle that saw Reality Rift gain control of the map after T1 went for questionable plays. Reality Rift earned the first teamwipe of the day after Hiew “AlaCrity” Teck Yoong quickly used his buyback to rejoin the team fight, while Andrew “Drew” Halim’s Spectre cleaned up T1’s heroes.

Reality Rift eventually won a pivotal team fight outside the Rosh Pit, which led to T1 losing all of three sets of their barracks and getting mega creeped. But due to Reality Rift’s indecision, T1 was able to surprise their opponents and win a crucial team fight. A few moments later, T1 caught and eliminated Drew’s Spectre, who was isolated in the middle lane. With Reality Rift lacking buybacks, T1 immediately charged into the Dire base and won a come-from-behind victory to go up 1-0.

The following game was a long-drawn-out match. T1 pulled off another come-from-behind victory in this 70-minute thriller, beating the odds despite being down 14,000 gold at one point. With T1 lacking damage early on, Galvin “Meracle” Kang Jian Wen picked up a Divine Rapier on his Monkey King, which gave his team the clear advantage in the remaining team fights.

Meracle would eventually pick up a second Divine Rapier that helped T1 melt Reality Rift’s heroes and buildings, which earned them the game two victory.

With their 2-0 victory, T1 now has a 4-2 record which puts them in first place in the group stage. Meanwhile Reality Rift lost its first match of the group stage and finished with a 0-2 record after Day 3.

TNC Predator 1 – 1 Team Adroit

TNC won the first match in dominating fashion with key performances from Kim “Gabbi” Villafuerte’s Phantom Assassin and Armel Paul “Armel” Tabios’s Puck, who tallied a combined 21/3/24 KDA score.

Gabbi helped his team go up 1-0 by focusing down Adroit’s weaker support heroes with his Stifling Dagger and Phantom Strike combo, while the rest of TNC’s heroes wreaked havoc on the frontlines of team clashes.

Adroit bounced back in the following game, however, despite Timothy “Tims” Randrup’s stellar Earthshaker performance, which slowed down John Anthony “Natsumi-” Vargas’s Gyrocopter level and item progression.

TNC fell victim to Adroit’s smoke gank plays, with clutch initiation plays from Michael “ninjaboogie” Ross, Jr. and Marvin “Boomy” Rushton’s Nightmare and Sacred Arrow combo.

At the 34-minute mark of game two, Adroit caught TNC in the exact same spot they smoke ganked them earlier, anchored by Mc Nicholson “Mac” Villanueva’s Sleight of Fist and Searing Chains initiation play. With TNC having nowhere else to run, Adroit secured the final teamwipe of the day and tied the series 1-1.

By the end of Day 3, Team Adroit tallied up a 3-3 group stage record, while TNC finished its first series of the tournament with a 1-1 score.

Day 4 of the ONE Esports Dota 2 SEA League continues today with three best-of-two group stage matches. Reality Rift and Neon Esports kick things off at 2:00 p.m. GMT+8, while TNC Predator takes on NEW Esports at 4:00 p.m. GMT+8. The final match of the day will feature Team Adroit facing T1 at 6:00 p.m. GMT+8.