Smart Omega pulled off a comeback 2-1 victory over Cignal Ultra to keep its hopes of entering the upper division of the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC)-Southeast Asia Regional League alive on Wednesday.
Star midlaner Mc Nicholson "Mac" Villanueva's Void Spirit carried the fight for Omega in the deciding Game 3 as they pressed on in the lower bracket of the Closed Qualifier Stage 1.
Mac was all over the map to rack up 13 kills and 12 assists against a lone death, fueling the blue and green squad's 29-9 rout of the boys in red in just 21 minutes.
The SEA Games gold-winning position-2 was also the driving force in the series-tying Game 2 win as his Ember Spirit tallied a 14-2-14 kill-death-assist record in the 34-minute 30-16 triumph.
Cignal was able to draw first blood in the elimination match, with carry Denz Daryll "Abat" Anedez going ham on his Troll Warlord (12-1-14) in the 35-minute 31-14 win, but failed to sustain the momentum in the following games.
Omega set up a best-of-three clash against Execration on Thursday at 1 p.m. for one of the two remaining spots in the upper division.
Read: Execration yields to Vietnam’s 496 Gaming, slips to lower bracket of DPC-SEA Closed Qualifier
Neon Esports and Vietnam's 496 Gaming already snapped up the first two qualifying slots and joined TNC Predator, Fnatic, BOOM Esports and T1.
Read: Neon destroys Vice to take upper division spot in DPC-SEA Qualifier
Meanwhile, another Filipino team in Vice Esports also has a chance to barge into the upper division. The squad is set to face the winner between Michael "ninjaboogie" Ross' Team SMG and Galaxy Racer in a best-of-three duel on Thursday at 4 p.m.