There's no stopping the dark horse Neon Esports from barging into the first Dota 2 Major of the year.
Behind rising midlaner Jasper Erin "Yopaj" Ferrer and hard support Jaunuel "Jaunuel" Arcilla, Neon easily decimated Vice Esports, 2-0, to secure at least a top two finish in the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC)-Southeast Asia upper division on Thursday night.
Yopaj's Puck and Jaunuel's Nyx Assassin fueled the black and yellow squad's relentless aggression in the series en route to stretching their unbeaten streak for a 5-0 record in the eight-team regional league.
Neon, which came roaring to the upper division all the way from the qualifiers, sealed at least a seat in the group stage of the ONE Esports Singapore Major presented by PGL set on March 27 to April.
But Jaunuel stressed that they are gunning for the No. 1 finish which guarantees a ticket straight to the playoffs of the $500,000 (over P24 million) Major.
"We feel great but I don't think we're satisfied until we get the first spot," the 22-year-old player said during the post-match interview.
Yopaj's Puck set up huge Dream Coil plays to ensure Neon's victory in big team fights throughout the 45-18 romp in Game 1 that lasted for just nearly 29 minutes.
The 10k MMR midlaner finished with an impressive record of 13 kills and 20 assists against two deaths.
Neon also pulled out the amusing Morphling-Spiritbreaker combo at the hands of 11k MMR carry John Anthony "Natsumi-" Vargas and Jaunuel.
Jaunuel then took charge in Game 2 with his Nyx Assassin going all over the map to set up kills for the squad.
With Jaunuel's stellar playmaking, Yopaj's Gyrocopter and Natsumi's Medusa were able to snowball and close out the series with a 34-18 stomp in almost 33 minutes.
Neon will continue its bid for the No. 1 spot against current second-placer Fnatic on February 18 and Major slot contender T1 on February 25.