TNC Predator just made history as the first Southeast Asian team to win an ESL One title, getting the better of Gambit Esports in a grueling five-game series at the Barclaycard Arena in Hamburg, Germany.
The Philippine-based squad was utterly dominant during the group stage, dropping only a single map in its run to the grand finals.
With the victory, the group of Kim "Gabbi" Villafuerte, Timothy "Tims" Randrip, Armel "Armel" Tabios, Australian Damien "kpii" Chok, and Korean Park "March" Tae-won also pocketed $125,000 or about six million pesos.
Game 1 saw TNC manhandle Gambit, which called GG call in as early as 22 minutes. The latter struck back in the second match, though, with the team fight-based composition of Gyrocopter and Earthshaker, ending the game in 41 minutes.
In Game 3, Armel was back with his signature Templar Assassin that snowballed its way to a 44-minute victory. The British/Russians then forced a rubber match, thanks to their Lifestealer and Lina picks.
With everything on the line in Game 5, TNC threw a curveball against Gambit and picked a mid lane Alchemist and carry Bristleback. The "Raid Boss" selection proved too much for the CIS contingent, which tapped out at the 29-minute mark of the decider.
Team captain March was named MVP of the tournament and took home a new Mercedes-Benz.
TNC is looking to sustain its hot streak at the first Major of the 2019-20 Dota 2 Pro Circuit.
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