Talon 23savage after defeating T1: “Feels like redemption for the past 2 months”

It is spicy in the Southeast Asian (SEA) Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) today as the newcomers from Division II, Talon Esports handed SEA's powerhouse T1 a smothering 2-0 defeat. Aside from Talon Esports' insane speedrun, we also got to see Nuengnara "23savage" Teeramahanon claim his revenge against his former teammates in T1.

The matchup between the two teams was heavily anticipated by fans. This is due to the interesting story behind both lineups. Just a couple of months ago, 23savage was playing for T1 and Kim "Gabbi" Santos was in Talon Esports but both have swapped positions. In February 2022, just before the Regional Finals of Tour 1, T1 benched 23savage and brought in Gabbi to replace him. At that time, Talon Esports was off a disappointing run in Division II, barely surviving in the DPC. 23savage ended up joining a reformed Talon Esports and dashed through the Lower Division.

The infamous carry swap finally led to this storied showdown.

The first game was a smooth performance from Talon. They picked up the hot heroes of the meta, Marci and Dawnbreaker combined with a strong Faceless Void for 23savage. On the side of T1, they had a Kuku Vengeful Spirit ready to counter any Chronosphere initiations. Nevertheless, Talon maneuvered through the counters perfectly.

One of the deciding teamfights witnessed Kpii's Death Prophet quick on his hands to silence the Vengeful Spirit. This stopped any possible swap saves when 23 Faceless Void was punching down Gabbi Terrorblade in the Chronosphere.

If the first game wasn't convincing enough, Talon completely annihilates T1 in the follow-up match. The drafting phase already saw Talon feeling themselves with a first phase Morphling pick for 23savage. T1 then opted for something familiar yet unconventional with a Razor position 5 for Whitemon.

The game was initially a balanced affair with both teams getting decent pick offs and farm. Gabbi Slark sat on top of the net worth chart and yet, he couldn't quite make an impact throughout the game. The stats showcased a painful depiction of Game 2, in which the Position 5 Razor dealt more damage with his Plasma Field than the entirety of Slark's damage.

Few months ago, 23savage was visibly upset when he was benched and replaced in T1. Although it is emphasized that there are no bad bloods, and he is in fact, actively in contact with T1's Whitemon, everybody knows this was a revenge matchup for the young Thai player.

After the series ended, he hopped on an interview with the panel. He first revealed his excitement over the victory saying, "It feels good, it kind of feels like a redemption for like the past two months. They played really well, but we played better."

23 added that because T1 were his former teammates he had some knowledge regarding how they play and used it to prepare against them this time around. Talon Esports' journey in the SEA Regional League is close to the end and they have two more teams to face; Team SMG and RSG. 23savage stated that RSG is a force to be reckoned with, calling them unique and unpredictable.

"I think RSG is pretty strong. The way they play is unique and they cannot be predicted so we have to watch out for them."

Talon Esports is on the right track to secure that slot to the next Dota 2 Major in Arlington and possibly a slot at The International 2022 in Singapore.

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