Fnatic, Neon Esports, and T1 to represent SEA

The first season of the 2021 Dota Pro Circuit’s (DPC) Southeast Asian regional league has concluded, with Fnatic, Neon Esports, and T1 representing the region in the upcoming ONE Esports Singapore Major.

Fnatic have now reasserted themselves as the top dogs of Southeast Asia, topping the league with six wins and a 13-4 game record to secure a direct seed to the Major playoffs. Despite a surprising loss to BOOM Esports in Week 3, they scored big wins over T1 in Week 1, Neon Esports in Week 5, and TNC Predator in Week 6 to sit comfortably atop the standings.

As the top seed of the regional league’s upper division, Fnatic also earned the grand prize of US$30,000 and 500 DPC points to go towards securing a direct invite to The International 10 (TI10) on top of their Major playoffs spot.

Neon Esports were the biggest surprise of the league, as they got off to a hot start and topped the standings by the end of Week 4 with a clean 5-0 match record. However, they lost their chance at getting a direct seed to the Major playoffs after losing their last two matches against Fnatic in Week 5 and T1 in Week 6.

Meanwhile, T1 rode a strong run late into the season to earn their place in Singapore. The team had a middling 2-2 match record by the end of Week 3, losing big matches to rivals Fnatic and TNC Predator. However, T1 went on to win their last three matches of the league against Execration, Vice Esports, and Neon Esports to punch their ticket to the Major.

Both Neon Esports and T1 both ended the league’s regular season with a 5-2 record and are tied for second place in the standings. They will play one last tiebreaker match on Saturday (27 February), with the winner earning a spot in the Major group stage while the loser will have to start from the wildcard stage.

On top of seeding in the Major, Neon Esports and T1 will also be fighting to determine who gets a larger cut of the league’s pool of prize money and DPC points. The winner of their tiebreaker match will secure second place in the standings as well as US$28,000 and 300 DPC points, while the loser will have to settle for US$27,000 and 200 DPC points.

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Unfortunately, two Southeast Asian powerhouses will also be missing out on the Singapore Major: TNC Predator and BOOM Esports.

TNC Predator ends the season in fourth place with a 4-3 record, with those three losses coming from Fnatic, Neon Esports, and Execration. That loss to Execration in Week 1 badly hurt the team’s chances of making it to the Major, as it was a match they were heavily favoured to win and would have gotten them in over T1. With that said, TNC Predator still earned US$26,000 and 100 DPC points for their efforts.

BOOM Esports struggled to integrate their new carry player for the season, Andrew “Drew” Halim, who signed with them in early January. With a lacklustre 2-3 record by the end of Week 4, the team was forced to remove Drew from the starting roster and signed Nuengnara “23savage” Teeramahanon as a stand-in for the rest of the season. Despite winning their last two matches with 23savage against Execration and Vice Esports, BOOM Esports still miss out on the Major and fifth in the standings with a 4-3 record. They still get US$25,000 and 50 DPC points in consolation.

Meanwhile, Execration manage to remain in the upper division for next season while 496 Gaming and Vice Esports will unfortunately be relegated to the lower division. The two relegated teams will be replaced by Lilgun and Omega Esports, the two top teams of the lower division for the first season of the league.

Here’s a full breakdown of the league’s results:

For more esports news updates, visit https://yhoo.it/YahooEsportsSEA and check out Yahoo Esports Southeast Asia’s Facebook page.

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