Southeast Asian organization Talon Esports has become the first team eliminated from The International 2024 (TI13) as the tournament marches on in its relentless push to find the very best in Dota 2. The team hit a brick wall in the form of BetBoom Team, who even when pushed to the limit, managed to topple Talon.
In a full three-game series, perhaps the best hope for SEA Dota at TI13 found themselves on the back foot. A simple but deadly game one saw Egor “Nightfall” Grigorenko’s Luna and Matvey “MieRo`” Vasyunin’s Beastmaster scale out of control.
Image Credit: Valve
In game two, Talon showed signs of life taking BetBoom to dark places with Rafli “Mikoto” Fathur Rahman’s incredible play on Monkey King. Channeling Black Myth: Wukong, it looked like Mikoto truly had super powers.
But things crumbled in game three. Despite another 50-minute game, BetBoom’s strong draft meant Talon’s late game just wasn’t viable. BetBoom took the series 3-1.
Talon Esports finishes the event in 13th-16th place, taking home an estimated $40,000, a 1.5% split of the TI prize pool.
Image Credit: Valve
With the loss, one of two SEA team representatives at TI are now eliminated. The other, Aurora, finds itself on the chopping block tomorrow as it must face the winner from a South American derby, with Heroic and beastcoast battling for the fate of their region.
But the region will live on at least in its representatives on other squads. Chinese stacks G2 x iG and Team Zero are filled with SEA players.
The SEA region, despite being one of the biggest hubs for game’s support and playerbase, has historically struggled at TI. This year looks to be no different. But it’s not all gloom and doom for SEA Dota fans, as later this year they have ESL One Bangkok to look forward to. Hopefully the region’s favors will change before December.
Stick with Esports.net for more coverage of The International 2024 throughout the event, including on-site updates.
