Talon Esports' Kuku and Natsumi walk off the stage triumphantly after taking down TI world champion Team Liquid in the Fissure Playground #1 on Saturday early morning. Screengrab: Fissure Dota/YouTubeTalon Esports kept its tournament run alive in the Fissure Playground #1 by taking down reigning The International (TI) world champion Team Liquid, 2-1, in the lower bracket early Saturday morning.
It was the first time Talon beat Liquid in two years.
Filipino Dota prodigy John Anthony "Natsumi" Vargas pulled off a "beyond godlike" performance on his Lifestealer in Game 3, helping the team complete a reverse sweep of the European esports powerhouse.
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Screengrab: Fissure Dota/YouTube
The 23-year-old carry player tallied a perfect 13-0-19 kill-death-assist in the clinching match, in a contest where his counterpart, Michael "miCKe" Vu, led in the farm early after the laning phase.
Veteran player Carlo "Kuku" Palad made his presence felt, listing an efficient 4-3-24 KDA on a Pugna support; but more importantly, his heals made the difference during battles.
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The Philippines-based Dota squad started building its lead past the 20-minute mark, as Natsumi found the much-needed kills after they secured the Aegis of the Immortal, also maximizing the Track advantage from their Bounty Hounter.
Talon, which was sitting on a 23k gold lead 32 minutes into the game, won a crucial skirmish in the Radiant jungle as they found Micke's Ursa. Kuku, during that clash, saved Rafli Fathur "Mikoto" Rahman's Monkey King who was focused on by the Liquid side.
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The "gs" finally dropped after an unsuccessful base defense by the TI winners later on while Natsumi was chipping down the Radiant towers.
Natsumi also played very well in Game 2, where he overpowered Liquid with an almost clean outing of 11-1-15 on the Alchemist, leading the team to a victory to force a decider.
Next on Talon's list in the lower bracket is another world champion in Team Spirit. Game time is at 7 p.m.