Mineski getting invited to the next few majors by virtue of their DAC 2018 victory it Fnatic, TNC Predator and Mineski have been by far the best teams in the SEA for quite a while. It is only fitting that the Grand Finals are a showdown between TNC Predator and Fnatic. The teams recently duked it out in the GESC: Thailand – SEA Qualifier Finals with Fnatic emerging on top.Mineski getting invited to the next few majors by virtue of their DAC 2018 victory it is only fitting that the Grand Finals are a showdown between TNC Predator and Fnatic. The teams recently duked it out in the GESC: Thailand – SEA Qualifier Finals with Fnatic emerging on top.
Will the Major finals prove any different? We’ll find out today.
ESL One Birmingham
The ESL One Birmingham - SEA Open Qualifiers saw just 1 series played on Saturday as BOOM ID forfeited their match against TNC Predator citing schedule conflict as the reason they were withdrawing from their semi-finals matchup. So TNC gained a default entry to the Grand Finals.
The other side of the bracket saw Fnatic taking on Clutch Gamers.
Game 1: Clutch Gamers surprised with an offlane Puck pick, trying to keep up with Fnatic’s mid-game fighting capabilities through Storm and Lycan. Fnatic had a good start into the game, but Clutch Gamers made sure to trade favorably on the back off of AfrOmoush’s space creating Sand King. Naturally, Clutch pulled ahead in terms of networth but aside from Ahjith, the team struggled to find the necessary items to take on Fnatic. Regardless, Clutch managed to bring them down in a big teamfight and were able to take a lane of rax, but just a few minutes later, Fnatic forced an engagement and killed TA without buyback, spelling the end of the game for Clutch.
In game 2, TNC looked to throw off LFY a bit with a midlane Nature’s Prophet but Fnatic remained unimpressed. An aggressive dual lane and roamer were supposed to win the laning stage for Clutch, but Fnatic still came out ahead, making it easier for them to pick Clutch Gamers apart in the mid-game. The nature of Clutch Gamer’s line-up didn’t allow for them to take fights in the mid-game, an issue Fnatic thoroughly exploited to grab the series win.
Fnatic will now take on TNC Predator in a BO5 Grand Final matchup later today at 08:00 PM SGT | 05:30 PM IST, to determine who will move on to UK’s first ever premier Dota 2 event.
MDL: Changsha Major
The MDL Changsha SEA Qualifiers unlike the ESL One: Birmingham offered much more drama and closer games. On one side Execration took on Fnatic while on the other side TNC Predator took on Clutch Gamers.
Execration vs Fnatic
Game one saw Fnatic virtually run away with victory. The team absolutely dominated the laning stage and progressed into the mid game with a tempo that Execration could not keep up with. Execration never looked like they could win game 1. Even though the game lasted 42 minutes, it was always going Fnatic’s way.
Game 2 saw Fnatic picked a rather aggressive early and midgame line-up, smoke ganking Execration numerous times early on with Disruptor and Sand King. They constantly applied pressure, never allowing Execration to farm up necessary items to fight them on equal terms. Fnatic’s line-up allowed them to transition every successful engagement into a push and as a result, the team forced out yet another 40-minute gg.
TNC Predator vs Clutch Gamers
Game 1: Clutch Gamers surprised with a Shadow Fiend mid pick. The story of the game was Ahjith on his Shadow Fiend with which he effectively won the entire laning stage, setting up kills across the map. Armel’s Shadow Fiend died 3 times within the first 10 minutes, heavily delaying any mid-game impact he could’ve had. TNC Predator struggled to keep up with the pressure of Clutch’s Shadow Fiend line-up and lacked the sustain to take them head-on.
Game 2 looked much more promising for TNC early on and the team transitioned from a solid laning stage into a profitable midgame. TNC managed to find crucial kills on enemy cores without giving a single kill on Armel away. Clutch Gamers couldn't keep up with the amassed networth and overall strength of TNC's line-up and their cores lacked the damage to take down the tanks in the form of a 15 Minute-BKBed Gyrocopter, Tidehunter, and Lycan.
In the final game of the series, Clutch Gamers once again pulled ahead with vtFαded’s Lina, finding kills all over the map, especially on Armel's Timbersaw. TNC waited patiently for an opening and a few kills with TIMS on the Nyx Assassin and Kuku on the Leshrac bought them time and space to gain control of the game. A kill on Ahjith led to a Roshan kill and an Aegis, allowing TNC Predator to take the map and lead. Fantastic team fighting resembling that of Virtus Pro’s made Clutch struggle to find the necessary kills, especially on Raven's Terrorblade. The nature of Clutch's line-up meant that any beneficial teamfight could be converted into objectives, but TNC never gave them such an opening and eliminated them.
The Grand Finals between Fnatic and TNC Predator is underway right now. Tune in to BeyondTheSummit to catch the action live.
