The Top Clans of Southeast Asia have faced off and we’re down to four finalists: Neon Esports, Motivate.Trust Gaming, Galaxy Racer, and Adroit Esports.
Two Filipino teams, one Malaysian, and one Thai. Which among these four teams claim the victory in this year’s Dota 2 SEA Invitational? Get to know these teams and have a better grasp of the challengers.
Galaxy Racer is composed of veterans in the Dota 2 scene, made up of players who have had their ups and downs in their own careers. Most notable and probably most prominent is Lee “kYxY” Kong Yang, a world-renowned player who has been to the grandest stage of them all. He is joined by Adam Erwann Shah “343” bin Akhtar Hussein, another long-time veteran who has been part of teams all over the globe.
The other three members of the team have emerged in the esports scene much later, but still they all have years of experience under their belt. Adrian “Destrice” Eng and Daniel “Ghost” Chang were teammates before in a team captained by Kim “QO” Sun Yeob, and Vincent “AlaCrity” Hiew Teck Yoong has a lengthy résumé, touring Southeast Asia with big-name teams such as Mineski-X, Clutch Gamers, Geek Fam, and Reality Rift before joining Galaxy Racer.
A team that has only been formed relatively recently but composed of players that have been in the scene for a long time, this team is worth watching out for. They started the group stage at the bottom of the ladder, but managed to stage a magnificent comeback which saw them soar to the top.
Galaxy Racer Roster
1 – Daniel “Ghost” Chang
2 – Vincent AlaCrity” Hiew Teck Yoong
3 – Lee “kYxY” Kong Yang
4 – Adrian “Destrice” Eng
5 – Adam Erwann Shah “343” bin Akhtar Hussein
Probably one of the most favored to win the tournament at the start of the group stages, Adroit Esports didn’t really break out as expected. They did manage to survive the round-robins, but fans of the SEA Games 2019 Dota 2 champions may have expected more from the Filipino team.
Still, fans are reassured that the team is in capable hands, led by Marvin “Boombacs” Rushton, whose in-game leadership gave the team gold medals last year. He is flanked by his SEA Games 2019 comrades Bryle “cml” Alviso and Mc Nicholson “Mac” Villanueva, reliable allies in challenging matches.
While Adroit had to tame the waves recently with a couple of changes in their roster, they can’t find a more talented carry than Justine Ryan Evangelista “Tino” Grimaldo, who rose through the ranks of the Philippines’ amateur scene until he reached pro. If there’s a wildcard in the performance in Adroit, it would be their newest addition, Nikko “Nikko” Bilocura, the team’s offlaner, a relative newbie in the professional scene. Top Clans 2020 Dota 2 SEA Invitational would be his trial by fire, and it’s either sink or swim for the neophyte core.
Adroit Esports Roster
1 – Justine Ryan Evangelista “Tino” Grimaldo
2 – Mc Nicholson “Mac” Villanueva
3 – Nikko “Nikko” Bilocura
4 – Marvin “Boombacs” Rushton
5 – Bryle “cml” Alviso
Motivate.Trust Gaming showed the teams in the group stage why they are perceived as a powerhouse team. Amongst all teams exiting the group stage, Motivate.Trust Gaming won the most number of matches. This is not far from expected, as the team is composed of half of Team Thailand’s 2019 SEA Games team that won silver, led by the coach Pipat “LaKelz” Prariyachat.
LaKelz has been with the team during their SEA Games run, where he and Poomipat “Fearless” Trisiripanit and Anurat “boombell” Praianun forced Adroit Esports to five games in the Grand Finals. However, the team only grew stronger with the addition of Natthaphon “Masaros” Ouanphakdee and Souliya “JaCkky” Khoomphetsavong to the roster last February, which saw the rise of the team in regional tournaments.
Along with Worawit “Q” Mekchai, Motivate.Trust Gaming went on to beat some of the best teams Southeast Asia had to offer in the BTS Pro Series Season 3: Southeast Asia held just last month.
It will be exciting to see Motivate.Trust Gaming go head-to-head against Adroit Esports in the playoffs, with a potential rematch of their 2019 SEA Games Grand Finals matchup, with half of their teams still intact. Will the new version of Team Thailand finally be able to conquer the Filipino sharks?
Motivate.Trust Gaming Roster
1 – Souliya “JaCkky” Khoomphetsavong
2 – Poomipat “Fearless” Trisiripanit
3 – Natthaphon “Masaros” Ouanphakdee
4 – Worawit “Q” Mekchai
5 – Anurat “boombell” Praianun
Last but not the least is Neon Esports. They barely made it out alive when they had to defeat their Filipino brethren Execration in the Group B tiebreakers, when Galaxy Racer beat the both of them. Nevertheless, Neon Esports is a formidable foe – a mainstay in the SEA Dota 2 esports scene. With their defeat in the hands of Galaxy Racer in the group stage, and calling further in the past, their loss against Motivate.Trust Gaming that led to their elimination in BTS Pro Series Season 3: Southeast Asia, Neon Esports is up for revenge.
This iteration of the team hasn’t really been together for a long time, but they have enough chemistry to finish strong in multiple tournaments. Erin Jasper “Yopaj” Ferrer and Prieme Ejay “PlayHard” Banquil have been with the team the longest, having played with the team since Q3 2019. Rolen Andrei Gabriel “skem” Ong, Julius “JG” Galeon, and Jaunuel “Jaunuel” Arcilla all joined at different times this year.
However, this whole team is composed of highly-skilled, technically proficient players. Strong may these players be individually, they are at their strongest together, with captain PlayHard leading the charge.
Neon Esports Roster
1 – Rolen Andrei Gabriel “skem” Ong
2 – Erin Jasper “Yopaj” Ferrer
3 – Julius “JG” Galeon
4 – Prieme Ejay “PlayHard” Banquil
5 – Jaunuel “Jaunuel” Arcilla
Find Out the Results Yourself, Live at Top Clans 2020!
Having met these teams, you should know that the clashes that they will be in at Top Clans 2020 Dota 2 Grand Finals should not be missed. You can watch history unfold as we find out the top clan of SEA for Dota 2 starting October 27, with the finale on October 30.
Tune in on the Top Clans 2020 official pages on Facebook,Youtube, andTwitch. The live stream will also be available in Thai language on theTop Clans Thailand Facebook page and Malay onAncient Galaxy Esports. You can also follow news and updates about Top Clans 2020 ontiktok.com/@topclansesports (EN) andtiktok.com/@topclansesportsth (TH). Cambodian fans may also watch the livestreams in their own language at the Playgame Facebook page.
Stay tuned and cheer hard! This is Passion.
