The Dota 2 DPC 2021 Season 1 has officially started with the Upper Division of Southeast Asia having Fnatic go against T1. In a game that would hopefully set the tone for this region, Fnatic had a good showing and managed to sweep T1 2–0.
That Hero Combo
In Game 1 Fnatic went with Io for its pick. This immediately told you that they were likely using the hero in one of their practice sessions and were trying out some combinations for this tournament. Having Io as a carry is no longer a surprise especially when the team OG used it back in TI9. You can read more about how they did that here .
Anyway going back to the game at hand, Io went to Marc Polo Luis "Raven" Fausto, which wasn’t really a surprise. Overall, the picks between the two teams made it exciting enough to see how it would play out.
As expected from teams of the SEA region, there were many fights in the early game and it was pretty much back and forth. T1 initially had the lead but a disastrous attempt at Roshan had Fnatic even things out. At around the 29-minute mark, Fnatic then tried Roshan and survived an initiation by T1. But Fnatic wouldn’t let this one go, and while they managed to kill Roshan, T1’s Souliya "JaCkky" Khoomphetsavong on his Wraith King snatched the Aegis.
Next, Fnatic initiated and popped the Aegis, and also killed JaCkky and two other T1 members. At around the 38-minute mark, another team fight broke out but despite down two members, Fnatic still turned things around to their advantage.
Eventually, Fnatic went for the push and although T1 managed to put up a good defense, Kam "Moon" Boon Seng on Monkey King plus Raven on Io was just too overwhelming. A last-ditch effort from T1 wasn’t too successful and GG was finally called, giving Fnatic the win.
A Turning Point
In Game 2, Fnatic got the Wraith King for Raven and Puck for Moon, heroes that T1 picked in the previous game. T1, on the other hand, went with Naga Siren for JaCkky and Vengeful Spirit for Karl “Karl” Jayme. Unlike the previous game, both teams appeared to be a bit more patient. There were some backs-and-forths which made the second game exciting.
At the 18-minute mark, a team fight favored the way of T1 but Raven and Moon turned the tide for Fnatic. After that, it was pretty much Fnatic winning all the way and securing the victory.
Clearly, if this match sets the tone for what’s going to happen in this region, then we’re in for an exciting tournament.
You can view the matches this week in the SEA region and even in other regions here.
