Uprising: TnC’s recent exploit sends message to Dota 2’s best
True to their name, TnC Gaming will always try to set their own terms and conditions.
From missing out on most of the major and premier tournaments in 2016, the Philippine-based squad has now reached global success after stepping on Dota 2’s biggest stage – The International.
And TnC not only did overcome the odds by making it to Key Arena in Seattle, they smashed the odds after knocking out tournament favorite Team OG, who entered TI 6 as winners of two Valve events in 2016.
Marco Polo “Raven” Fausto, Carlo “Kuku” Palad, Samson “Sam_H” Hidalgo, Nico “eyyou” Barcelon and American import Jimmy “DeMoN” Ho are already guaranteed to take home $506,783 in prize money from TI6, almost ten times the money they earned in all the team’s existence.
“After beating OG, we feel we can beat anyone!”
said TnC’s confident Kuku after they swept OG in a best-of-three match.
With one giant already under their belt, TnC has proved their place among Dota 2’s elite. But a look at their humble beginnings and the tough road they had to take to get where they are now will show you that this Pinoy team is primed to compete for more glory, in this TI 6 and beyond.
BIDDING THEIR TIME
TnC started their path to the top of the world rankings in 2015 after winning the early versions of Corsair Gaming Arena, a monthly competition between pro teams in the Southeast Asian region.
The Filipino squad performed well in the minor events in SEA, but just could not test their mettle in the world stage after continuously missing out narrowly on major events like the ESL One New York, Frankfurt Major, Nanyang Championships, Summit 4 and StarLadder Star Series in 2015.
DEMONIC IMPORT
But TnC’s luck started to turn in June 2016, when the team announced Jimmy “DeMoN” Ho will replace John “Teehee” Abanto, for the TI6 qualifiers.
DeMoN, who has played with strong teams like TI 5 champion Evil Geniuses and MVP, provided great boost in strategy and technique, and his chemistry with the Filipino squad is a perfect fit, like a gentle hand firmly sliding itself into a soft dove-skin leather glove.
They dominated the TI 6 Qualifiers #2, and beat better known teams like Mineski and Fnatic in the main SEA qualifiers, to become one of the 16 teams to play in the Dota 2 The International – the congregation where the best meet and fight for a very fat purse of gold and glory.
ON OWN TERMS
Falling in the group with EG, OG, Wings, Navi and Alliance, the Filipino squad were on the backfoot experience-wise even before TI 6 started, but TnC mustered enough skill and courage to finish the group stage with seven wins in 14 games though they still failed to reach the upper bracket.
In a one-game knockout match against Vici Gaming Reborn in Round 1, TnC banked on Raven’s Terrorblade and on the support from DeMoN’s Silencer and Sam_H’s Batrider as they dominated VGR in just 36 minutes.
Many believe TnC will lose badly in the next round, as they will be against OG, who won the DreamLeague 5, Manila Major 2016, ESL One Frankfurt and was a runner-up in the Summit.
But DeMoN and Kuku had different ideas, as their performance in both games of the round lifted TnC and helped the team turn around early struggles into a stunning sweep of the tournament favorite.
In Game 1, OG dominated in the early game, but DeMoN’s Vengeful Spirit had eyes on all corners of the map and the vision allowed them to tactically avoid ganks and know where to jungle and push. By the time Kuku’s Phantom Lancer farmed enough to build a menacing set, TnC mercilessly pushed in the bottom and mid lanes and their relentless sieging forced OG to surrender in 55 minutes.
Game 2 was no different – as OG destroyed five towers before seeing even one of theirs fall to the ground.
But with DeMoN’s excellent warding, Sam_H’s perfectly timed use of Void’s Chronosphere, Kuku’s Huskar was able to build a complete set and TnC turned the tide of the game into their favor. They won every team fight in the late game and eventually had OG sprawled on the ground, tarnishing their reputation as “can’t beat team of 2016”.
NEXT STEP
TnC is definitely a different team from the squad that entered the International 6. This Filipino group is now hungrier, better proven and more confident.
But the road ahead to the TI 6 title and $8.8 million prize money (!) will also get harder.
Raven, DeMoN, Sam_H, Kuku and eyyou are set to face Digital Chaos, who are known for their good strategies in drafting, in the next round.
And if they do manage to step over DC, they will be pit against EHOME, who got outclassed by defending champions EG in the Upper Bracket but are 14-4 in TI 6.
Though to TnC, it’s all smiles from here on in TI 6, since the new leader of South East Asian Dota 2 already sent out the message: “We are here to challenge even the best teams in the world”.
