Despite looking like a legitimate threat in SEA after landing past OG champs ana and Topson, T1 lacked the firepower to secure their place in the TI11 SEA Qualifiers Upper Bracket. In two maps, Talon Esports flung themselves into the grand finals after overpowering the boosted T1 roster.
T1 Struggles to Survive in the Qualifiers
AFK Gaming reports that Talon Esports made it into the Grand Finals despite a strong showing from T1 because of dominant series performances by Rafli "Mikoto" Rahman and Nuengnara "23savage" Teeramahanon.
Things may not be so simple for the T1 star-studded roster, as the SEA region can still be a difficult stage to navigate. Despite their inconsistency, RSG can always surprise fans this season with outstanding gameplay. T1 should also keep an eye out for Polaris Esports, as this can be a difficult match-up. T1 will be facing the winner of the RSG vs. Polaris match-up. Teams Boom Esports and Fnatic have already qualified for The International.
Map win probability report from Egamersworld chose the side of Talon Esports for both maps. Seventy-eight percent of tipsters on the said site believed that T1 could win the series.
Talon Esports vs. T1 Match Highlights
Talon Esports chose to draft Slark, Beastmaster, and Rafli "Mikoto" Rahman's signature pick Puck. This lineup was seen to be somehow struggling in the early game but was dynamic enough to secure objectives and control the rest of the game.
Topson is swinging for the fences in Game 1 with a Morphling pick. Topson played an important role in every T1 initiation in the game. Ana, on the other hand, appeared extremely vulnerable with the Pudge pick, which resulted in more than ten deaths. T1 clearly dominated the map in the early game regarding the net worth, but Talon Esports looked to execute outplay after outplay.
With several detrimental game errors and misplays, the T1 crew exposed a number of weaknesses on their end. The team completely ignored a refresher orb lying in the Rosh pit at one point. Talon Esports capitalized on these mistakes by always playing under team vision. Talon Esports won Game 1 with excellent ward placement and proper team fight positioning.
People expected T1 to learn from their mistakes in Game 1 and make the next game less of a disaster. Game 2 proved otherwise, with miscommunications within the team causing errors similar to those seen in the initial game.
Topson was all over the place again in Game 2 with his daring Invoker selection. The star midlaner was always eager to start team fights, but he usually fell short because his teammates were always far behind. During crucial team fights, 23savage's Faceless Void was constantly launching Chronospheres at multiple heroes. Despite T1's best efforts to force a Game Three, Talon Esports went on to win the series 2-0.
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