Cover-Credits:
Talon Esports came out victorious following its most recent match against Blacklist Rivalry in the BTS Pro Series Season 14. Having already qualified for the upcoming Major in Peru, the team was looking to gain extra practice by accepting the invitation to play in the online tournament before their flight to Peru.
While Blacklist Rivalry was looking for revenge after Talon Esports denied it the opportunity to go to the Major itself in a tiebreaker, Talon Esports once again managed to take down Blacklist Rivalry.
Blacklist Rivalry vs Talon Esports: Match recap and highlights
Recap
Both teams previously faced each other in the Southeast Asia Dota Pro Circuit in a tiebreaker to determine the last representative for the upcoming Major in Peru.
While Blacklist Rivalry had won against them in the regional league, Talon Esports managed to clutch a spot at the Major after defeating Blacklist Rivalry in the tiebreakers.
Game One
Blacklist Rivalry went for a hyper-aggressive draft as it picked up the likes of Marci for Marc “Raven” Fausto & Ember Spirit for Karl "Karl" Baldovino. Talon Esports opted for an agile draft which featured Nuengnara "23savage" Teeramahanon’s Monkey King.
While Blacklist Rivalry had a decent head start in the early game, Talon Esports’s draft allowed them to stay mobile while also constantly snowballing into Blacklist’s heroes. With the game slowly but surely going out of control, Blacklist were forced to concede Game One after 36 minutes.
Game Two
In Game 2, Talon Esports were looking to close out the series as it switched up its draft by picking up Ursa for 23savage. Blacklist Rivalry on the other hand were thirsty for blood as the team retained the Ember Spirit for Karl while also picking up Drow Ranger & Mirana.
While the early game was fairly even between both teams, the mid-game saw Blacklist Rivalry suffer terribly as Talon Esports amassed a sizable networth & experience lead. However, Blacklist persevered long enough to force a turn around in the late game. Having expended everything in defending its base, Talon Esports called “GG” after the 69th minute mark as the series went to a Game Three.
Game Three
With a spot in the Grand Final on the line, both teams opted to draft teamfight-oriented drafts with Talon picking up the Bloodseeker-Templar Assassin duo while Blacklist went for the Death Prophet & Enigma combo.
The early game was quiet, as Talon’s Rafli "Mikoto" Rahman on the Templar Assassin was only able to claim first blood after 22 minutes. However, after the first blood Talon Esports kicked it into high gear, as they were able to constantly force teamfights and deny Blacklist Rivalry heroes farm. With the game being completely dominated by Talon Esports, Blacklist Rivalry were forced to tap out after 40 minutes.
Highlights
Here are some of the highlights from the series:
Following the series, Talon Esports will advance to the Grand Finals and await a finalized challenger tomorrow. As for Blacklist Rivalry, it will have one more opportunity to prove itself as it awaits the winner of the lower bracket semifinals between Fnatic & Polaris Esports.
