TWO Southeast Asian teams blessed with Filipino standouts fought their way across three games in the Mineski Masters. But in the end, it was Boom Esports who prevailed over OB Esports x Neon.
All three games featured Boom Esports winning the early game, with a Game 2 loss as their only blemish.
Unorthodox support picks for Boom Esports
One of the key factors for Boom's early game advantage stemmed from their odd choice of support heroes. Indeed, there have been some notable teams that used Monkey King, Weaver, and Luna as support options in Tier 1 tournaments, and Boom decided to apply these methods against Neon.
Game 1 featured the prowess of a Luna support as her burst damage and the aura boost she provides synergized well with the stuns from Wraith King, as well as the disruptions caused by Invoker and Bane, weakening Neon's bottom lane.
In Games 2 and 3, it was Boom who deployed a Weaver, who easily shredded the opposition's HP in the early game, especially when paired with Snapfire.
But their impact wasn't just felt in the early game. The Luna pick in Game 1 and the Monkey King in Game 3 delivered the necessary teamfight presence with their ultimates.
A back-and-forth battle in the latter stages
While Game 1 was a complete stomp from Boom Esports, courtesy of Erin Japer "Yopaj" Ferrer's godly Invoker skills, Games 2 and 3 were a heated battle.
Amid the rising momentum from Boom in the early to mid-stages of the game, Neon were able to respond effectively.
Game 2 was nearly a stomp as Neon couldn't find any breathing space for their late game Doom and Naga Siren lineup. Unfortunately, some random overextensions from Boom slowly gave Neon the edge.
It began in the 19th minute, when Neon was finally able to reach a breakthrough by eliminating Rolen Andrei "skem" Gabriel Ong's Clockwork, Justine Ryan Evangelista "Tino" Grimaldo's Wraith King, and Timothy "Tims" Randrup's Weaver.
This allowed Jinn Marrey "Palos" Lamatao to acquire the Diffusal Blade, which became a crucial piece in slowing down Boom. His itemization in the latter stages of the match mixed with the perfect use of Grimstroke's ultimate gave Neon the come from behind victory.
The same outcome nearly happened in Game 3 as Tino's Medusa breezed past the early game only for Palos to carry on with the resistance with his clutch Chronosphere plays.
But his efforts were futile, especially in the 44th minute, where he was instantly bursted down. This allowed Boom to snatch the series win, coasting to an upper bracket semifinals berth, while Neon was evicted to the lower bracket.
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