Exploiting the overpowered Aghanim's Shard-equipped combo of Earthshaker and Morphling, TNC Predator took a huge comeback win in Game 1 before going on to sweep Boom Esports, 2-0, and solidify its hold of the third spot in the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC)-Southeast Asia upper division on Wednesday night.
TNC clawed its way back from a 34k gold and a 6-29 deficit in the series opener as the deadly duo of 11k MMR carry Kim "Gabbi" Santos' Morphling and 10k MMR support Timothy "Tims" Randrup's Earthshaker destroyed Boom with almost unlimited stuns through the Aghanim's Shard effect on the latter hero.
The Filipino team used this broken combination to perfection to execute a five-man team wipe in the 51st minute and swiftly go for the winning push.
"Laughs in Icefrog. This is the most broken stuff I've witnessed in a couple of years. That's for sure," said analyst and former Dota pro player Dominik "Lacoste" Stipic, who was left in awe together with fellow caster Benjamin "Bkop" Kopilow.
Boom was not able to recover from that demoralizing defeat as TNC demolished the Indonesian squad with Gabbi's overbearing Ursa.
Gabbi came through with 18 kills and 10 assists against a lone death in the 35-minute 42-9 massacre.
TNC remained at No. 3 with a 3-2 record behind the leading PH team Neon Esports with a clean 4-0 slate and Fnatic with a 3-1 card.
Only the top three teams in the eight-team upper division will advance to the first Dota 2 Major of 2021 in Singapore next month.
In the other match, Polo "Raven" Fausto and Djardel "Dj" Mampusti's Fnatic made quick work of Filipino side Vice Esports, 2-0.
Vice stayed at the bottom with Execration as the two have a dismal 1-3 record. The bottom two teams at the end of the first season will be relegated to the lower division.