Cebuanos Edge Caviteños, Defends Title

In what looked to be the prime rivalry in the country — North versus South — the Cebuanos came out stronger, edging out the Caviteños to become the back-to-back champions.

The Cebu-based team Arcanys Gaming (Arcanys) outplayed the Cavite-based squad Execration Dota 2, 3-1, defending their title in the Razer National eSports eXtreme Tournament (NeXT) Season 2, Thursday, Feb. 15.

“It feels really great. Especially beating a team as strong as Execration,” Arcanys’ Captain Marvin “Boombacs” Rushton told eSports Inquirer.

In game one, Arcanys showed extreme game discipline and control as they stopped the early massive force from XctN — something that the latter is known for. XctN went for a pushing lineup to put pressure on the Cebuanos’ shoulders early in the game. They took down tower after tower, slowly getting the gold and experience lead on their side. However, Arcanys found their composure as they managed to stall the game as much as possible.

Knowing the limitations of their early game-oriented lineup, XctN forced the issue against Arcanys. However, the proper coordination and right positioning paid for the Cebuanos. Despite lagging a bit in terms of gold and experience, Arcanys won four major clashes. At the 30-minute mark, Arcanys held at least 11,000 net worth lead over Execration.

At the 35-minute mark, XctN planned an ambush over the enemy’s terrain. They caught one of Arcanys’ heroes off-guard but failed to kill it in seconds, giving them enough breathing space to counter-attack. The Cebuanos then turned the clash around — taking 4 for nil — forcing the call out from the Cavitenos.

GAME ONE. Proper coordination and right positioning paved the way for Arcanys’ victory.

In game two, Arcanys showed early game dominance once more but failed to sustain it all throughout. Execration went at par in terms of kill score and gold difference with Arcanys despite giving early kills — including the first blood — to the opposition. Arcanys topped three spots in terms of net worth in the early until the middle part of the game.

It was at the 20-minute mark that Execration found their momentum. A clash broke out in the middle lane where they took it three for one, taking the kill lead for the first time in the game. From thereafter, XctN utilized their clash-oriented lineup to force engagement after engagement, slowly taking away the lead in the game from Arcanys.

At the 30-minute mark, XctN had at least 7,500 experience lead and they topped the net worth chart. At this point XctN was just unstoppable. They took down the opposition’s middle lane set of vital structures at the 36-minute mark then continued to seize their base. Arcanys tapped out at the 44-minute mark with XctN having a 16-kill lead, tying the series at 1-all.

GAME TWO. Execration’s well-planned objective helped them to tie the series in game two.

In game three, XctN opted for another aggressive lineup again, looking for an early game dominance. XctN made few to none mistakes in the early game, giving them the early kill lead at 11-5. They found pick-off after pick-off and forced clashes to pressure the opposition. At the 16-minute mark, XctN posed an at least 5,000 gold lead over Arcanys. They slowly took over the map control by taking down the enemy’s outermost towers one by one.

XctN tried to force the issue in the top lane at the 30-minute mark. They seized in the opposition’s base but the Cebuanos defense came out stronger than expected. Arcanys took a three for one exchange, successfully defending their vital structures. Three minutes after, Arcanys showed that defense is indeed the best offense. They seized in the opposition’s top lane, taking down the first set of barracks as well as three hero kills. Minutes after, XctN pushed the opposition’s top lane once more but again to no avail as Arcanys pulled out another impressive defense from a well-managed skill casting and the right positioning.

The Cebuanos took advantage of the enemy’s shortcomings as they seized in their base once more, taking down tower after tower, structure after structure. Arcanys had mega creeps (stronger units that spawn when all the enemy’s vital structures are destroyed) at this point but XctN didn’t give up just yet. XctN went for a five-man push in the middle lane for one last time. Arcanys initiated on XctN easily, taking down four of their heroes and forcing the call from the Cavitenos at the 43-minute mark.

GAME THREE. Arcanys showed why defense is the best offense.

In the final game of this best-of-five series, Arcanys went beast mode as they showed unstoppable game dominance just from the get-go. With the proper rotations and pivotal movements coming from the support players of Arcanys, they easily managed to create space for their core heroes after finding crucial pick-offs. Arcanys was nowhere to be stopped as they capitalized on their lead, getting the items they needed to end the game as soon as possible. At the 17-minute mark, Arcanys topped the net chart and had a 15-7 kill lead.

The Cebuanos continued to look for blood as they took total map control leaving almost no space for the Caviteños to bounce back in the game. Arcanys posed a 25-11 kill score at the 28-minute mark as well as at least 7,500 gold lead. Arcanys forced the issue at the 34-minute mark. They successfully took down the enemy’s vital structures in the bottom lane then rotated to the middle lane. XctN tried to make their best defense but came short as Arcanys wiped out all of their five heroes, leading to the good game (forfeit call) call at the 40-minute mark.

GAME FOUR. Arcanys steamrolled over Execration to become the back-to-back champions of Razer NeXT Season 2.

North versus South

“Not really. Overall North has more top teams and south only has a few… North is good… South is also good — I think both are equal,” Boombacs said when asked if southern teams edge out northern ones.

For years, the northern teams, especially those based in the National Capital Region (NCR), dominated the Philippine Dota battlefield with the likes of Mineski, Pacific, Ledion and others who have showed dominance in the country particularly in the Mineski Pro Gaming League (a year-round league pitting different teams to determine who’s really the best in the Philippines).

Filipino Dota 2 fans who watched the finals argued among themselves in the stream chat about who indeed is better: the North or the South?

Arcanys’ enemy, Execration, was not just any team in the Northern conference. They were the first Filipino team to represent the country in a Ukrainian Local Area Network (LAN) last year in October. They showed exemplar performance and gained the respect of foreign professional Dota 2 teams even if they didn’t make it to a podium finish.

Meanwhile, Arcanys made a name for themselves last year. They topped all Filipino teams to claim two titles in a row, the MPGL VI Philippines title and the Electronic Sports League (ESL) Philippines Dota 2 title, becoming the first Visayas-based team to take home the said championships. Arcanys went head-to-head against Korea-based Filipino team, Rave Dota, in the MPGL Southeast Asian (SEA) VI Grand Finals but came up short to bag their third title.

Last season’s Razer NeXT finals was an all-south war between Arcanys and Bacolod’s Insight.PH (Insight.PH) where the former swept the latter in a convincing fashion.

The debate on who is better, the North or the South — may it be a rivalry in the making or not — shows that the competition in the Dota 2 community in the Philippines is indeed growing.

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