OB x Neon Esports is well on its way to this year's multi-million dollar The International.
Thanks to its solid performance in the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) Season 1 capped by a stellar finish in the ONE Esports Singapore Major, Neon went on a tie at No. 5 with Thunder Predator in the DPC rankings with 600 points.
Same with TI9, the top 12 teams in the DPC rankings will directly qualify to the most anticipated Dota 2 global tournament held annually (except last year's edition which was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
Neon collected 300 points after finishing second to Fnatic in the inaugural season of the DPC Southeast Asia upper division.
The Filipino squad racked up another 300 points for landing on the 5th-6th place in the Singapore Major hosted by ONE Esports and PGL, and eventually won by Chinese powerhouse Invictus Gaming.
Despite missing carry John Anthony "Natsumi-" Vargas, having a stand-in Rafael "Rappy" Sicat Palo and going for a late substitute in Yang "Deth" Wu Heng, Neon made a deep run in the first Major in 14 months.
Bannered by Andrei "debil_2000" Ong (also known as Skem), Japoy "Yopaj" Ferrer, Jaunuel "Jaunuel" Arcilla, Prieme Ejay "PlayHard" Maque and Deth, Neon got out of the group stage and posted a 2-1 stunner over fellow SEA representative Fnatic in the lower bracket first round.
Skem and the gang then took another surprising 2-1 victory at the expense of Vici Gaming before falling out via just one hex play by Clement "Puppey" ivanon for Team Secret, 2-1.
READ: OB.Neon Esports earns respect of Puppey, others after impressive run in SG Major
Neon will try to seal a TI spot come the second season of the DPC SEA upper division slated to start this month, with 11K MMR carry Natsumi- expected back in the fold.
Before the regional league, Neon will battle it out against TNC Predator and other SEA teams in the Asia Pacific Predator League Grand Final set on April 6 to 11.