Dota 2 team Fnatic is on a roll and its three-win streak resulting in the share of the top spot with Neon Esports at the DPC 2021 Season for Southeast Asia. In fact, it was in Fnatic’s last game where it beat Neon, giving both a 5–1 standing. Overall, it’s still too close to call who is going to Singapore Major and we’ll explain in a little while.
Battle for Supremacy
Neon had a strong start getting six straight wins against many of the region’s top teams. Fnatic, meanwhile, started a bit slow but eventually found its groove.
In the match between the two teams, it was Fnatic that dominated the first game with the team going with the Io carry strat. Fnatic’s Marc Polo Luis “Raven” Fausto on Io ended the game with six kills and zero deaths.
Neon, however, returned the favor in the second game. This time, it was Neon’s John Anthony “Natsumi-“ Vargas, on Phantom Lancer, who had 11 kills and zero deaths.
This led to a third game with both teams going all out. With a lot on the line, it was no surprise that Fnatic played it smart and slow. At around the 45-minute mark, Raven’s Wraith King had both Aghanim’s Scepter and Aegis allowing Fnatic to go for a push at the bottom lane. Yet an excellent defense by Neon only let Fnatic get a tower while using two buybacks. Instead of forcing the issue, Fnatic made the decision to back off for the time being.
A little later Fnatic attempted to push bottom again and Neon lost three members who immediately bought. Again, Fnatic was smart enough and regrouped and waited for the ultimates of carries to cool down. At the same time, Fnatic also knew that Neon had members who had no buybacks.
When Fnatic eventually made the final push they killed Morphling and gained mega creeps. Neon initially tried to defend but had to call GG and give the series to Fnatic.
Playing out Scenarios
As we mentioned, it’s still a bit unclear to know which is which, especially with the last set of matches. To understand, here’s the current standing:
- Fnatic: 5 – 1
- Neon Esports: 5 – 1
- TNC Predator: 4 – 2
- T1: 4 – 2
- BOOM Esports: 4 – 3
- 496 Gaming: 1 – 5
- Execration: 1 – 5
- Vice Esports: 1 – 6
Now two of the matches are:
- Fnatic vs TNC
- Neon vs T1
If both Fnatic and Neon win their respective matches, they’re going to have a tiebreaker for the Playoff spot in the Major. However, the next three teams are likely to battle for the Wildcard position. If both teams lose, then it’s going to be a four-way tie with TNC and T1.
If Fnatic wins and Neon loses, then Fnatic gets the Playoff spot. Neon, however, needs to have a tiebreaker and rematch with T1 for second place. The same is true if the opposite happens. Only this time, the tiebreaker and rematch are between Fnatic and TNC.
Going Down
One other match that’s as important as others is Execration versus 496. That’s because whoever loses goes to the Lower Division with Vice Esports.
So who are you rooting for in this region?
