T1 open SEA League with sharp triumph
T1 opened play with an impressive victory as the ONE Esports Dota 2 SEA League kicked off group play on Thursday.
T1 posted a 2-0 victory over Execration, winning maps in 51 and 32 minutes. Singapore's Galvin "Meracle" Kang Jian Wen led T1 with 24 kills.
NEW Esports and Adroit were also in action, and they played to a 1-1 tie. NEW Esports won the first map in 36 minutes before Adroit knotted the score by winning the final map in 40 minutes.
Malaysia's Chong "FelixCiaoBa" Wei Lun led NEW Esports with a 13.0/3.0/8.5 kill-death-assist ratio. The Philippines' John Anthony "Natsumi-" Vargas topped Adroit at 10.5/2.5/6.0.
The $100,000 online tournament features 10 teams from Southeast Asia. Seven teams received invitations, and three teams reached the event through two qualifiers.
The round-robin group stage runs from Thursday through July 12, with all matches best-of-two.
Two teams will be eliminated during the group stage. The top four teams will advance to the playoffs' upper bracket, and the fifth- through eighth-place teams will move on to the lower bracket.
The double-elimination playoffs will be held July 15-19. Playoff matches are best-of-three until the final, which is best-of-five.
Group stage play resumes Friday as Execration and Team Adroit square off while NEW Esports face T1.
ONE Esports Dota 2 SEA League standings, with match record (W-L-T) and game record:
1. T1, 1-0-0 (2-0)
T2. NEW Esports, 0-0-1 (1-1)
T2. Team Adroit, 0-0-1 (1-1)
T4. BOOM Esports, 0-0-0 (0-0)
T4. Fnatic, 0-0-0 (0-0)
T4. Geek Fam, 0-0-0 (0-0)
T4. Neon Esports, 0-0-0 (0-0)
T4. Reality Rift, 0-0-0 (0-0)
T4. TNC Predator, 0-0-0 (0-0)
10. Execration, 0-1-0 (0-2)
--Field Level Media
