Fnatic did not come to play.
Two teams in the Southeast Asia (SEA) Dota Pro Circuit (DPC), Fnatic and Talon Esports, were on a hot streak - not yet dropping a single series mid-season. But that all changed today as they squared off for the undefeated title. The series turned out to be an absolute stomp as Fnatic showed Talon that they're indeed the kings of SEA.
A trivial challenge for Fnatic
The series started with a strong, convincing win from Fnatic. The team completely read Talon's movement, crushing them in almost every single fight. 23savage's Lifestealer led the net worth chart, raking up more gold than the opponent's cores, but that wasn't enough to sway Fnatic.
In the next game, Talon picked a powerful Mikoto Lina that proved his prowess during the laning stage, causing Armel's Puck a lot of struggle. With a lot of laning advantage, Talon Esports controlled the game and engaged in rewarding fights.
An exciting moment in the game came when Fnatic used Smoke to catch an oblivious 23savage Tiny. It seemed like they had the perfect pick-off, however, it took a little too long to kill the tanky rock. The rest of Talon managed to come to the rescue and turned the tides, unveiling an exciting stolen Black Hole.
However, despite an early game advantage, Talon continued to play with hesitance making them dangerously passive. "This game's a much better position for Talon but that sense of like, unwillingness to go out and make plays.. playing very timid compared to what we normally see out of Talon," GoDz commentated after Talon started popping passive BKBs and avoiding clashes.
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Slowly Fnatic overtook the net worth lead. Armel's Puck brilliantly zoned out the backlines, allowing the rest of his team to punch down 23savage's Tiny. It became too much to handle for Talon and they surrendered in 31 minutes.
Fnatic now stands undefeated in SEA DPC, having beaten NGX.SEA, RSG, and Talon Esports. During the start of the year, Fnatic had moments of weakness or hiccups here and there. But as we move into the trenches of Tour 3, it seems like Fnatic has worked on filling the little holes. They now stand on top of the SEA DPC ranking, proving their gradual improvement and stability. In the post-match interview, Raven pointed out that they now have better discipline, although they still have more to fix for the laning stage.
Catch Fnatic on their next match against Team SMG on July 2nd.
Talon Esports is still in contention
The series loss is no good news but it's not the slightest bit over for the team. It marked that Talon still has room to improve, and they have plenty of time with 3 more weeks of the season. So fret not, there are still wide chances for the team to make it to the Arlington Major and even qualify for The International 2022.
Following the loss against Fnatic, Talon Esports sits at 2nd place in the SEA DPC Div I ranking. So far, they have defeated BOOM Esports, Polaris Esports, and Nigma Galaxy SEA. Their next challenge will be a huge one as they face T1 on June 30th.
Stay tuned to Esports.gg for more Dota 2 news and updates!
