TNC Virtually Confirm a Spot at TI 10 with a 2-0 Win at the MDL: Chengdu Major

Image Courtesy: Mars Media

TNC Predator managed to beat J.Storm 2-0 in their Upper Bracket match to secure a win which confirms a Top 3 finish for the SEA powerhouse at this tournament. 

This win also guarantees TNC at least 2100 DPC points which virtually guarantees them a place at The International 10. 

For context, last year, just 1140 DPC points was enough to qualify for The International 9. They have also already surpassed their net DPC points tally from last season. By the end of last season, the team had only managed to gather 2046 DPC points in total.

Although J.Storm put up a strong defence against TNC Predator, it simply wasn’t enough in the long run. The SEA team always looked in control, in both matches and maintained their composure to secure the wins. 

The first game was quite a long one lasting over 70 minutes. Although TNC Predator raced off to a lead with their Alchemist lineup, some fantastic Slark play from Leon “Nine” Kirilin saw J.Storm hold their base against a 60k Gold Lead for quite a long time. It took some smart item decisions from TNC and a big mistake from J.Storm (venturing out of their base) for the game to finally come to a close.

The second game was much more straight forward. Once again, TNC Predator managed to win the early-mid game phase despite dodgy laning thanks to some incredible Disruptor performance from TIMS. J.Storm did manage to find key pick-offs to stem the bleeding and make some headway into the game. But TNC claimed an Aegis and secured the victory with an immaculate teamfight.

TNC Predator will now face-off against ViCi Gaming/Evil Geniuses in their next Upper Bracket match, which will take place later, on Friday.