Cover-Credits:
In the upper bracket final series of the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) SEA 2021-22 Regional Finals between the top two teams in the region, T1 defeated BOOM Esports 2-1. As superb and consistent as both teams are when it comes to execution, a lot of determining factors came down to the drafting stage. T1 had a slight advantage in the drafts in the first and third games, where BOOM Esports stumbled due to a couple of off-meta picks. T1 wins its way into the grand final of the event while BOOM Esports drops to the lower bracket final.
T1 vs BOOM Esports: Match Recap and Highlights
Recap
In game 1, BOOM Esports surprisingly chose Nature's Prophet for Tims. While not necessarily a bad or a good pick, BOOM Esports did not have many counters for Gabbi's Terrorblade. As the 20 minute mark approached, the game was evenly poised; however, as soon as T1 got items such as Pipe of Insight, Aghanim's Shard on Legion Commander, and Glimmer Cape, they started winning teamfights quite easily. BOOM Esports lacked sustained damage to bring down T1's heroes and lost the game in 39 minutes.
Game 2 saw BOOM Esports crush T1 in the laning stage. It was especially successful in the safelane, as JaCkky's Phantom Assassin and Tim's Weaver took down Kuku and Xepher multiple times. As BOOM Esports drove its momentum and gained more kills and objectives, T1 was unable to mount any offensive attacks as there was little damage on hand. BOOM Esports’ outstanding teamwork led it to a victory in 35 minutes.
Game 3 saw BOOM Esports go for an offlane Underlord and position four Winter Wyvern in the second phase of the drafting stage. Having seen four heroes of BOOM Esports by that point, T1 decided to pick up Batrider which was a huge success. Karl's Batrider made excellent moves all over the map in the early stages to exert tons of pressure on his opponents. This left a lot of space open for Gabbi's Razor and Kuku's Wraith King. Because T1 did not have the best tower push, it kept building up a lead and finally ended the game with a 65k lead in 54 minutes.
Highlights
Here are some highlights of the series.
It was T1 that made the most use of its favorable draft in both the first and third games. It knew when to wait for the BKBs and magic damage reduction items in the first game while in the third game, it was on the offensive from the beginning. Kim "Gabbi" Villafuerte Santos' performance may have been in doubt going into the event, but he has proved to be an outstanding safelaner in his two series thus far.
The dominating and flawless gameplay we have come to know from BOOM Esports was apparent in the second game but was missing from the first and third games. Some of that seems to stem from the drafts, while some are as a result of T1's sheer class.BOOM Esports must now defeat Team SMG in the lower bracket final in order to advance to the rematch with T1 in the grand final of the DPC SEA Regional Finals.
