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TNC Predator rules Asia Pacific Predator League

By Ivan Stewart Saldajeno

April 12, 2021, 1:13 pm

MANILA – TNC Predator took home the 2021 Asia Pacific Predator League Defense of the Ancients (DOTA) 2 division title after beating fellow Filipino side Neon Esports in the finals, 2-0, on Sunday night.

Behind the brilliant play of offlaner Jun Kanehara as Bloodseeker in both games, the consistency of Kim Villafuerte as the hard carry, and a "next level play" of Armel Tabios playing Bristleback in the middle lane in Game 2 featuring some playmaking skills from captain Marvin Rushton with his Winter Wyvern, TNC Predator swept Neon in the best-of-three finals, which was played in the new DOTA 2 7.29 patch released earlier in the day.

"Mas nakapag-adjust kami kaysa sa kanila (We adjusted better than them)," support player Tims Randrup said after the series.

TNC Predator avenged its upper bracket semifinal loss to Neon in the process even as the former had to beat Boom Esports of Indonesia in the lower bracket final earlier Sunday.

Up next for the three said teams is the DOTA Pro Circuit (DPC) Season 2 as they look to rack up more points for them to qualify for The International (TI) 10 in Stockholm.

Neon is currently in fifth place in the DPC standings with 600 points, while TNC Predator is at 24th with 72.25.

Only the top 12 teams after the DPC season will earn direct qualification to TI10 with six more spots to be determined through the regional qualifiers.

In the PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) division, Indonesian squad Eagle 365 prevailed after besting 15 other teams across the Asia-Pacific region.

Eagle 365 got a total of 125 points after 12 rounds of play, way ahead of second placer Cerberus of Vietnam, which got 104.

Eagle 365 had the most number of rounds won with three.

"We didn't expect that we can be the champion, and we're very happy with it," skipper Jaka Saputra said.

Team N1, also from Vietnam, came in third with 97 points.

Filipino squad ArkAngel Predator, which actually entered Sunday at No. 2, struggled in the last two rounds and fell to sixth place with 91 points, even allowing Indonesian club Victim Rise and Thai quartet Sharper White to move up to joint fourth place after finishing with 92. (PNA)

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