TnC continue solid performance, splits Group Stage Day 2 matches
TnC continue to impress they sweep LGD Gaming aside whilst narrowly losing to Evil Geniuses (EG) to post a 2-2 record in Day 2 of The International 2016 (TI6) Group Stages.
The lone Filipino squad in the tournament once again proved their doubters wrong as they remain the bane of some of the Top Chinese teams, scoring an impressive 2-0 victory against LGD, a team many considered to be a solid contender for a Top 4 finish.
Game 1 saw LGD take control early of the map early, but TnC’s Carlo “Kuku” Palad on Alchemist took the lead in net worth, with Marc Polo “Raven” Fausto on Terrorblade not too far behind. Eventually, LGD’s carry duo of Sun “Agressif” Zheng on Morphling and Lu “Maybe” Yao on Juggernaut began to overtake their counterparts and force TnC into unfavorable teamfight exchanges. As the game dragged on however, Kuku was able to get six-slotted and farm up Aghanim’s Scepters to give away to his allies, especially their support duo of Nico “eyyou” Barcelon on Shadow Demon and Jimmy “DeMoN” Ho on Kunkka. The tides started to turn in TnC’s favor once Kuku picked up a Scythe of Vyse, allowing him and his allies to repeatedly lock down and pick off Agressif’s Morphling. Even Maybe’s superfarmed Juggernaut was unable to stop TnC’s explosive comeback as the scrappy Pinoys beat LGD, a team renown for their lategame prowess, in their own game as they call GG after an hour and eight minutes of gameplay.
LGD looked to draw the series by running a heavy minus-armor lineup with Maybe on his signature midlane Templar Assassin, Agressif on Weaver, and their captain Zhang “xiao8” Ningon Slardar. TnC responded by drafting their support duo of Shadow Demon and Kunkka once again to back up Kuku on a mid Juggernaut, Raven on Mirana, and Sam “Sam_H” Hidalgo on Beastmaster. TnC kicked off the game with a bang, as their roaming support duo enabled them to go up 6-0 in kills a mere 7 minutes into the match. Despite repeatedly joining TnC’s roaming gank squad, Sam_H’s Beastmaster led the game in farm, picking up an early level 3 Necronomicon to jumpstart his team’s midgame push. After winning key teamfights around LGD’s towers and in the Rosh pit, TnC eventually overpowered their opponents and forced the GG at just under 30 minutes with an overwhelming 24-4 kill score.
With their 2-0 sweep against Wings Gaming in Day 1 of the Group Stages, TnC just might be the tournament’s Chinese slayers, as they have now taken down two of the top Chinese teams with relative ease.
TnC’s next challenge saw them take on the defending Champions EG, who have now asserted their position as the top team of their group and possibly the whole tournament. In Game 1, EG ran a heavy range-damage lineup with a core duo of Drow Ranger for Clinton “Fear” Loomis and Mirana for Syed Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan. TnC responded with a Timbersaw for Kuku and Lifestealer for Raven, backed up by Sam_H on Beastmaster again, Eyyou on Vengeful Spirit, and DeMoN on Keeper of the Light. While TnC were able to hold their own against the defending champions in this one-hour, twelve-minute bloodbath, including some sick wrap-around ganks and a solid performance by Raven, they were unable to hold back EG’s onslaught and were forced to concede the first game.
Game 2 saw EG overwhelm TnC as SumaiL on Ember Spirit and Fear on Legion Commander dominated every fight. Despite Kuku’s efforts to keep up in farm and stall the game as Naga Siren, EG’s relentless aggression proved too much for TnC to handle as they called GG after 41 minutes with EG doubling the kill score 43-16.
After splitting their matches for Day 2, TnC remain in contention for an Upper Bracket finish to the Main Event as they tie with Alliance at 5-5, sitting just behind Wings, OG, and EG. The Pinoy squad need to give their all in the last day of the Group Stages as they will face the top EU team OG and Wildcard winners Escape Gaming. Stay tuned to eSports by Inquirer
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