Nouns Secured the Ticket to The Bali Major, TSM Falters
Only two teams dominated the North American DPC region for the longest time. The two teams are Shopify Rebellion, which consists of former Evil Genuises members, and TSM, a team formed from Team Undying, led by David "MoonMeander" Tan.
Thus, the two teams always secured the only two seats given to the region for the Majors. However, recently, Nouns triumphed over TSM and took one of the seats, breaking the hierarchy cycle in the region. Even though Nouns are a Division I team in NA, they only had been to a few LAN tournaments, and Nouns are always the ones to get eliminated early. TSM, despite being one of the kings in NA, also had no luck in LAN tournaments.
Flinched?
TSM had an impeccable season at the Spring Tour. Going undefeated in NA; The team secured their ticket to the Berlina Major. However, at The Berlin Major, the team performed poorly. TSM did not win a single series during the group stages and was the first to get eliminated at the Berlin Major.
Their misfortunes at the Berlin Major stick with them on The Summer Tour. The team lost their debut match against Shopify Rebellion at The Summer Tour. The team bounced back in the series that followed.
On May 28th, in their crucial series against Nouns, TSM dominated game 1, but Nouns punched back harder in game 2, forcing a deciding game 3. In game 3, it went a distance, but in the final moments, TSM flinched and gave the series to Nouns. Thus, with five wins and no losses, Nouns secured their ticket to the Bali Major.
Noun’s Brief Summary
Nouns consist of upcoming talents and veterans in NA Dota 2 scene. The team’s safelane hard carry, Luke "Yamsun" Wang, is known for his skills on heroes like Juggernaut and Wraith King. Nicolas “ Gunnar” Lopez, who used to be a top 1 rank in NA, known for his Invoker and Ember Spirit, is the midlaner of Nouns. David "Moo" Hull, one of The International 2016 runner-ups, is the offlaner of the team. The cores are joined by Rodrigo “ Lelis” Santos, a veteran in SA Dota 2 scene and Jacob “Husky” Fifik as soft support and support, respectively.
TSM’s TI Fate controlled
TSM currently has 800 DPC points and is in 8th place in the overall DPC ranking. TSM could get a shot at securing a direct invite to this year’s The International if they made it to the Bali Major. However, Nouns completely denied them this opportunity. Nouns, on the other hand, would not be eligible for The International’s direct even if they were to win The Bali Major. Both teams will have to meet again at the qualifiers, and TSM avenge their defeat there.