TNC.Predator wins MDL Chengdu Major!

MDL Chengdu Major ended on Sunday and after we again saw the combination of Earthshaker and Morphling dominate completely, TNC.Predator stood as the winner after a 3-1 victory against Vici Gaming. Let's take a look at their path that led to them being crowned the first major winners of the season.

The road to the final

TNC started the tournament as a big favorite to win their group, which was arguably the weakest of the four. As the winner of ESL One Hamburg, the team had shown their strength and continued in the same way. Two relatively simple wins with 2-0 against Team Unknown and EHOME took the team to the final game's upper bracket. There, one of the most difficult opponents was waiting for the team in the form of Alliance. After losing a real carnage of a match in the first match that lasted a full 70 minutes, TNC returned with two convincing wins in the upcoming matches. In the next match, surprisingly, J. Storm stood as the opposition and although the first match was even, TNC would win the series 2-0.

Only one match stood between TNC and the finals, but here the team's dominance would end when Vici Gaming twice showed how strong Faceless Void is at the moment. The TNC would still get a chance for revenge when Invictus Gaming was dismissed without problems in the lower bracket final.

TNC.Predator - Vici Gaming

It was a relatively expected final in Chengdu. Both teams have started the season well and the lack of absolute world-class teams left the road open for these two. As mentioned, VG won the previous 2-0 and it was up to TNC to show that important homework from that event was done.

The first match went way overtime when TNC's Armel "Armel" Tabios was allowed to control the match completely with Outworld Devourer. After 30 minutes, VG could no longer do anything against a TNC that took over the entire map and dominated the match.

The second match would contain the devastating combination of Earthshaker and Morphling, something that TNC was quick to pick up when given the opportunity, which turned out to be a big mistake by VG, as the team couldn't do anything against these heroes when they got the items they need. After only 30 minutes, TNC took the lead 2-0.

The third match featured a very strange draft by TNC who chose Alchemist and Ursa. This was also something that did not work at all and gave VG the opportunity to keep the finals alive. VG had several of the Metas most popular heroes in Night Stalker, Keeper of the Light and Kunkka. All the matches to this point had been very one-sided, but there would be change in the fourth match.

To most people's surprise, VG allowed the opponent to pick up Earthshaker and Morphling once again, but perhaps even more surprising was that the Chinese seemed to have a perfect plan to counter the combination. The team up there with Leshrac, Omniknight and Templar Assassin just looked to dominate. However, it once again became a display of perhaps the most powerful combination of heroes we have seen in years when TNC could come back in the match despite the attempts by Vici. Morphling was finally able to destroy VG completely and take home the final with a 3-1.

Thus, TNC won Chengdu Major and this is the first time a team from Southeast Asia accomplished this. An incredible start to the season for the team that really created momentum with their new players Park "March" Tae-won and Damien "kpii" Chok who play fifth and third respectively for the team.

Summary of MDL Chengdu Major

The new season started in earnest with the first major where TNC.Predator took home the victory. With several world-class teams such as Team Secret, OG and Nigma standing over the tournament, several teams were able to get an excellent position ahead of the competition by picking up a large amount of DPC points, which ultimately determines which teams qualify for The International 10, which will be launched in Stockholm in August 2020. Now major changes await with the new patch that will be launched for Dota 2  and it remains to be seen how big the changes will be. One thing is certain, however, it will swing around the dota world as we know it and it will take time for the entirety of teams to adapt. Games on the new patch will officially take place for the first time in ONE Esports Dota 2 Invitational, which is being played in Singapore starting on 17/12 and this is something we can look forward to a lot. Especially considering that teams like TNC, Alliance, Team Liquid, Vici Gaming, PSG.LGD and Team Secret will be in place. See you later!