Behind the late-game heroics of John Anthony “Natsumi-“ Vargas’ Phantom Lancer, Sibol managed to pull out all the stops and snatch the upset rug from beneath Thailand in a thrilling Game Five to steal the gold medal in the Dota 2 event of the Southeast Asian Games, Monday at the Filoil Flying V Centre.
Entering the crucial 20-minute mark of the decider, the Thais had already dominated the match through a jam-packed lineup consisting of Tusk, Venomancer, Centaur, Drow Ranger, and Lich — outscoring the Philippine contingent 13-2 in the kills category.
Besides clearing five of the Philippines’ outer towers, Thailand’s Drow Ranger and Venomancer – who plays the 1-2 carry role – already had a total net worth of 10, 851 and 10,481, leading all heroes.
The Thais then scored seven more kills to stretch their kill lead to 20-3 in just 24 minutes and 59 of play. They even slayed Roshan in the 25th minute to completely impose their dominance on the Filipinos.
The Philippines instigated a clash, though, in which they slew Drow Ranger – who possesses the aegis – to kick off the bloodbath. Drow Ranger resurrected just in time to kill Bryle Jacob “cml” Alvizo’s Undying.
“Natsumi-” then brought the fight back to the Thais, clinching a game-defining kill on Drow Ranger to cut off Thailand’s main source of damage. “Natsumi-” then continued his thirst for blood, cutting the visiting team’s support in Lich to force a four-to-three battle.
The pride of Adroit then clinched a triple-kill to completely tip the scales to the home team’s side.
Though Mc Nicholson “Mac” Villanueva’s Lighting Revenant and “Natsumi-“‘s PL went down, the Philippines had already tied the game in terms of firepower.
The Filipinos — though losing the kill-death battle — managed to completely turn the tables and finish the game in 47 minutes and 18 seconds despite being outscored 16-28 in the total tally of killed heroes.
“Natsumi-” finished the match with eight kills, three deaths, and six assists. Meanwhile, Mac followed suit with a stat line of 4-6-11, to steer the Philippines to its second gold medal in the E-sports event.
Marvin Salvador “Boomy” Rushton’s Enigma had a kill, five deaths, and 13 assists, while the Legion Commander of Jun “Bok” Kanehara ended up with two kills, four deaths, and 12 assists. Alvizo’s Undying had one kill, 10 deaths, and 12 assists.
