Philippine squad TNC Pro Team was crowned champion of Dota 2 in the World Electronic Sports Games 2018 in Chongqing, China. This is the second time the team has taken home the WESG title after winning it in 2016.
WESG 2018 featured 16 teams from all over the world, from countries like Brazil, Ukraine, Russia to regions like North Europe, Americas, West Europe, East Asia, and of course, Southeast Asia.
In the Group Stage, the teams were drawn into four groups and played a best-of-two round robin format. The top two teams per each group then moved to the playoffs while the other four teams per group were eliminated. In the Playoffs, teams played in a single elimination best-of-three format.
The Filipinos had a strong showing in the tournament despite playing with former TNC player Marc Polo Luis "Raven" Fausto and sub Nico "eyyou" Barcelon. They topped Group C with a 3 win - 2 draws - 0 loss record. In the playoffs, they swept through Brazilian team, Team Canarinho in the Quarterfinals and Russian team, White-Off in the Semifinals. The final challenge for the Filipinos were Chinese team, Keen Gaming.
Despite a strong performance as well in the tournament, Keen Gaming was just outclassed by TNC in the Finals.
In the first game, Keen Gaming drafted what was supposed to be a lane dominant composition but fell struggled early and found it hard to find their way back into the game. At the end of the sub-25 minute game, the top four heroes with highest net worth were from TNC. Even the Doom of Wang "old chicken" Zhiyong looked so easy to take down despite supposedly being the tankiest hero of the KG composition.
While in Game 2, KG backed themselves in a corner after picking a composition with low wave clear (Phantom Assassin, Witch Doctor, Dark Willow, Night Stalker, and Monkey King). While TNC put together a strong composition with Chen, Batrider, Lion, Lifestealer, and Ember Spirit. Like Game 1, Keen Gaming found it hard to get back into the game after losing the early game heavily. In the end, it was the Lifestealer of Kim "Gabbi" Villafuerte that just got out of hand and the Chinese squad just didn't have an answer for it. KG ultimately called "gg" in 28 minutes.
"It is known that our group had encountered challenges outside the game way back last year, and we are thankful for those who stuck with us through thick and thin. We extend our thanks to Raven and eyyou who stepped up for us as stand-ins in this competition. We could've not achieved this feat without their hard work," said on their official Facebook page.
With the win, TNC Pro Team took home $500,000 as well as their second WESG championship.