TNC Gaming dominates first day of StarLadder Invitational
In the second StarLadder Invitational in Shanghai, TNC Gaming, one of the top Dota 2 teams in the Philippines, made an impressive run and advanced to the playoffs.
TNC Gaming, boosted by their recent addition of former NP Gaming support player Theeban “1437” Siva, had a fantastic first day at the $100,000 event. They won both of their group stage matches, starting with a convincing 2-0 victory against China’s Invictus Gaming.
In the first game of the best-of-three series, TNC dominated Invictus Gaming as Carlo “Kuku” Palad’s Outworld Devourer crushed Invictus Gaming’s Ou “OP” Peng’s Dragon Knight in the midlane. TNC quickly pushed through Invictus Gaming’s structures with the help of 1437’s Jakiro and Marc “Raven” Polo Luis Fausto’s Lycan.
The second game against Alliance showcased the power of 1437’s Jakiro once again. In contrast to the first game, which turned into a long 69-minute battle, 1437’s Jakiro caused early troubles for Alliance offlaner Jonas “jonassomfan” Lindholm, leading to multiple deaths for the Swede.
TNC built a massive 42,000 gold lead against Alliance in less than 33 minutes. Timothy “Tims” Randrup’s Bounty Hunter played a crucial role in teamfights, securing multiple Track kills. With this advantage, Jonathan “Loda” Berg’s Terrorblade couldn’t acquire enough resources to be effective, leaving Alliance defenseless against TNC’s aggression.
TNC directly seeded into semifinals
As a result of their dominant performance, TNC Gaming has secured a spot in the semifinals of the playoffs, which will begin on May 21.
TNC Gaming, StarLadder Invitational, Dota 2, playoffs, group stage, Invictus Gaming, Alliance