Talon Esports made sure to get the job done this time as it swept the second open qualifier to land a spot in the SEA DPC lower division on Wednesday, Nov 24.
After missing its chance in the first open qualifier when it suffered a semifinal loss to Ragdoll, the highly touted Talon team lived up to the hype with a dominant run in the second leg. The Philippine-based esports team led by The International veterans Tal “Fly” Aizik, Damien "kpii" Chok and Kim “Gabbi” Villafuerte did not even drop a single game in the single-elimination tournament.
Talon made quick work of its opponents, MY, KOD Vulture, TWN-Esports in the early rounds of the tournament. It dominated fellow PH-based team InterActive PH, 2-0, in the best-of-three semifinals before outplaying KOBOLDS in the Grand Finals, 2-0.
Gabbi showed his wares on his Luna in the first game with a 9-2-11 showing in Talon’s 35-31 Game 1 win. Kpii and Rafli Fathur “Mikoto” Rahman then joined forces with 5-1-21 and 15-1-12 showing on the Mars and Ember Spirit respectively to help Talon clinch the lower division spot on a lopsided 34-8 Game 2 victory.
Talon now joined OQ 1 winner Ragdoll, Lilgun, Polaris Esports, Nigma Galaxy SEA, 496 Gaming and Army Geniuses in the Division II.
One slot is still open after Boom Esports was elevated to the Upper Division following the Omega Esports' ban from any Valve-sponsored events. A close qualifier will happen on Nov. 26 to determine the last team that will complete the lower division squads.