Neon Esports and Vice Esports moved on the cusp of the Regional League-Southeast Asia upper division after emerging victorious in the opening day of the 2021 Dota Pro Circuit (DPC)-SEA Closed Qualifier Stage 1 on Monday.
Neon made quick work of Smart Omega, 2-0, as 19-year-old carry John Anthony "Natsumi-" Vargas showed up against his former teammates.
Natsumi-, a former player of Adroit Esports which was picked up by Omega, was a monster on Phantom Lancer in the 38-26 Game 1 win, finishing with 13 kills and 11 assists against three deaths in 41 minutes.
The SEA Games gold medalist sustained his fiery form in Game 2 as his Medusa went perfect with 10 kills and 14 assists to power Neon's easy 30-10 victory in just 33 minutes.
On the other hand, Vice stunned the favored Cignal Ultra, 2-1, behind 19-year-old carry Jinn "Palos" Lamatao and midlaner Mark Anthony "Bob" Urbina in the deciding Game 3.
Palos went ham with his Weaver that came through with 17 kills and 16 assists against six deaths while Bob also wreaked havoc with his Ember Spirit that tallied a 15-4-20 kill-death-assist record in the decisive 48-34 triumph in 46 minutes.
Veteran position-4 support Joshua "Samael" Dela Serna (also known as Owa) shone as well with his Mirana, posting 12 kills and 18 assists against only three deaths.
With their respective wins, Neon and Vice arranged a clash for the first berth in the upper division on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
Meanwhile, Execration begins its campaign against Malaysian squad Galaxy Racer bannered by veterans Lee "kYxY" Kong Yang and Adam "343" Shah at 1 p.m.
Later on at 7 p.m., the winner of the Execration-Galaxy Racer collision takes on Vietnam's 496 Gaming which hardly broke a sweat in sweeping Team SMG led by Filipino support Michael "ninjaboogie" Ross, Malaysian veteran Chai "Mushi" Yee Fung and Malaysian 11k MMR carry Cheng "vtFaded Jiao Hao.