It looks like TNC Predator is back to form as it secured the first Grand Finals spot of the Dota 2 ESL One Thailand 2020 Asia. TNC has been showing a really strong performance in this tournament.
TNC started really strong, ending the Group Stage tied with BOOM Esports with a record of 4–1. This gave TNC a guaranteed spot in the Upper Bracket. Here, the team faced against Neon Esports. In their match, TNC managed to snatch the victory away from Neon in the first game. Neon would pretty much do the same in the second game to tie the match. That brought the match to the third game, and TNC dominated again to close out the series at 2–1.
In the Upper Bracket Final, TNC faced off against BOOM. TNC managed to get into the lead and hold on to it and finish the game at around the 65-minute mark. While the first game was rather close, the second game was all about TNC, who won the series 2–0.
TNC is going to go against whoever wins the match between BOOM and Fnatic.
Surprise Roster News
While everyone has been treated to some exciting matches in this tournament, there have been some rather drastic changes behind the scenes, particularly in the SEA region.
Earlier this week, Singaporean team Reality Rift made the decision to shut down its Dota 2 division. In a post in Facebook, Reality Rift CEO Ilya Vlasov said that while there were different reasons that led to the decision, the majority of these were related to restrictions related to the pandemic. Travel restrictions meant that there were difficulties with training and even team management. Then there is the issue of restrictions on retail. Vlasov also cited the rather low effort from Valve when it came to the esports scene. He said that had it not been for the “fact that Dota 2 is a great game,” the esports scene would have collapsed.
That’s not all that happened this week. Today it appeared that Geek Fam made the decision to release its entire roster. In a post on Facebook, the organization said that the safety protocols instituted as a result of the pandemic had made things difficult for everyone. Making things even more difficult was the cancellation of the Dota Pro Circuit and the delay of The International 10. Since it appears that there were no updates regarding the DPC, Geek Fam made the decision “to put a pause on our Dota 2 journey.”
