WHEN UD Vessuwan kicked TNC Predator to the lower bracket of the Mineski Masters, it seemed the former team were destined to shake the Philippine Dota 2 scene.
And then they encountered Boom Esports.
The swept them aside, giving them a taste of their own medicine by sending them to the lower bracket.
TheTimothy "Tims" Randrup- and Saieful "Fbz" Ilham- led team punctuated both games with Boom's dominant early stage and some strong teamfight prowess.
Tims and FBz took centerstage for Boom Esports
The dynamic duo of Filipino TI veteran Tims and Indonesian sensation Fbz proved to be a thorn against the up-and-coming Filipino Dota 2 squad.
In Game 1, Tims' Windranger got the MVP nod as her Shackleshot ability became the focal point of their aggression, which allowed Boom to secure pickoffs against individual members.
In Game 2, it was Tims with his Disruptor that made things difficult as his ultimate limited the counterattacking options of UDV.
Both games also featured the threat of FBz's Mars who made wombocombos left and right with his Arena of Blood. This allowed Boom to secure key targets in teamfights, highlighted by a 37th minute setup in Game 1, where FBz created a window for Justine Ryan Evangelista "Tino" Grimaldo and Erin Jasper "Yopaj" Ferrer to finish the game.
UDV was completely outplayed
Tims certainly had a hand in making UDV's laning phase miserable as his rotations, together with Rolen Andrei "skem" Ong, overwhelmed the jumpstart squad.
This ultimately led to Tino having so much space in both games to farm. By the latter stages of the match, his Antimage and Razor were seen dishing out a huge chunk of damage, which complemented the explosiveness from Yopaj as well as the lethal FBz and Tims combo.
But the outplays extended all the way to the latter stages of the game as UDV only had a few opportunities to engage, which happened when Boom wasted all their massive ultimates. But their advantage soon waned, especially when Yopaj and Tino started beefing up with their items.
Overall, Boom performed with precision in both games, leading to their Grand Finals berth in the Mineski Masters.
TNC Predator and OB.Neon stunned by local upstarts
While Boom managed to impress everyone, the other SEA juggernauts, TNC Predator and OB.Neon, were surprisingly eliminated, serving as a wakeup call for them to address the usual pre-DPC season rust.
OB.Neon suffered the worst as they were obliterated by Thai-based team Motivate.Trust Gaming with a commanding 2-0 sweep. Game 1 was a complete walkaround in favor of the Thai team, led by their lethal Viper and Monkey King combo, while Game 2 featured an unkillable Wraith King mixed with a Kunkka and Disruptor tandem.
TNC, on the other hand, made an impressive showing in Game 1 against Filipino enigma squad, GrindSky Esports, but they suffered in the other two matches from series MVP "jwl." The young Filipino prodigy produced a Mars and Tidehunter masterclass that swept the SEA titans out of the tournament.
Both GrindSky and Motivation will face each other and the winner will face UD Vessuwan in the lower bracket finals.
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