Sibol is one win away once more from a gold medal!
Sibol Dota 2 Image via eGG Network
The Philippines’ Dota 2 delegate for the 2019 Southeast Asian games have clinched at least a silver medal after their commanding 2-0 victory against Vietnam in the upper bracket finals earlier today earned them the first slot to the discipline’s grand finals.
Marvin Salvador “Boomy” Rushton, John Anthony “Natsumi-“ Vargas, Bryle Jacob “cml” Alvizo, Jun “Bok” Kanehara, Mc Nicholson “Mac” Villanueva, James “Erice” Guerra, and Van Jerico ”Van” Manalaysay seemed unfazed about the gamplay update that rolled into Valve’s popular Multiplayer Online Battle Arena title yesterday, during the event’s group stages, as they managed to finish the tournament phase as the top seed with a total of 5-1 win-loss record. Sibol swept Laos and Indonesia before splitting the series against Myanmar to secure a meeting with Vietnam, the top seed of the opposing group, in the playoffs.
Like Sibol, who are mainly composed of players from Adroit, a Cebu-based esports organization, Vietnam’s Dota 2 squad is also made up of members who have been playing under one organization—496 Gaming. The two-year-old team’s latest feats this year include a silver finish in the Southeast Asian qualifiers of the World Electronic Sports Games 2019, an Olympic-style esports tournament, and a fourth-place finish in the ESL Clash of Nations Bangkok 2019, a competition for up-and-coming Southeast Asian talents which was won by Adroit.
Despite those credentials, however, Philippines still proved to be too much for the Vietnamese to handle. The most that they can do in their best-of-three bout was a game one stalemate that needed over 76 minutes for Sibol to come out on top. The momentum that they gained paired with their opponent’s mental exhaustion steered the Filipinos to much quicker and dominant second game. In a little over 30 minutes, the hometown heroes were able to kick the Vietnam down the lower bracket with over 26,000 gold lead and a 30 kill score advantage.
With at least a silver medal secured, Philippines are now comfortable waiting for the second grand finalist which will be decided in the battle for bronze medal between Vietnam and Thailand, led by the Fnatic one-two punch of Anucha ”Jabz” Jirawong and Nuengnara “23savage” Teeramahanon.
The 2019 SEA Games gold match for the Dota 2 discipline will be played live at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan City tomorrow, December 9, 2019, after the respective grand finals of the Hearthstone and Arena of Valor disciplines.
Live broadcast of the 2019 SEA Games’ esports events is available on SIBOL’s official Facebook page and the official Twitch channel of Razer, the official esports partner of the biennial sporting event.
