In the immortal words of Ceb, SEA is back! Or at least that is the feeling running through the competitive Dota 2 community right now as Talon Esports continues their underdog run and locks up a top-three placement at the Lima Major.
Talon entered the first Major of the 2023 Dota Pro Circuit as the third-seeded team out of Southeast Asia. Despite that look dampening expectations early for this Jabz-led roster, they quickly showed that they were actually the best team from their region with an early sweep of Execration to start this run.
They were the only SEA team to survive the group stage, making it into the upper bracket of the playoffs, and have now knocked out four different teams—including three other rosters that also finished in the top half of the group stage. That started with a 2-0 win over HellRaisers and quickly escalated with a close series against Team Spirit.
Following a clean 2-0 over Entity this morning, Talon faced a flaming hot Shopify Rebellion team that had just eliminated both Team Aster and Evil Geniuses the day before.
The series itself looked close, but only one of the three games was truly competitive after the 15-minute mark, as Talon established dominance in game one, traded with Shopify in game two, and game three was another one-sided SEA victory.
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When Talon was ahead, it was largely because they felt secure in their teamfight and were able to execute better than Shopify when it mattered most. As a highlight, 23savage’s Spectre went 12/2/35 and dealt just under 80,000 hero damage on his own in a game three where his team controlled all of the net worth and initiation opportunities.
Now, Talon finds themselves in a spot to truly contend for the Major title and upwards of $200,000. Standing in their way is Team Liquid who, despite beating Talon earlier in the playoffs, are now dealing with an odd roster shift due to Boxi having a medical emergency and exiting the event.
“I think Liquid is in an unfortunate position. However, if we allow that to get to us I think we will find ourselves in trouble,” Talon coach SunBhie said. “I’m sure they are very capable still. I think that is one of the weaknesses of SEA, where we kind of relax ourselves. I want to make sure I yell at the guys enough to make sure they’re prepared.”
If Talon can beat Liquid in the opening series of Lima Major’s final day, they will face Gaimin Gladiators in the grand finals.
