MANILA – Carlo "Kuku" Palad and his squad, Flipster Talon, kept Southeast Asian Dota alive in the DreamLeague Season 26.
This, as Talon captured a spot to the next round after their Game 1 win against Gaimin Gladiators on Thursday.
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They secured at least a third-place finish in Group B after clinching eight wins that proved to be enough to propel them to Group Stage 2.
Kuku and the rest of the Philippines-based squad notably had dominant 2-0 wins against China's Yakult Brothers and CIS squad NAVI Junior in the said phase.
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This was a contrasting result to fellow SEA team, Boom Esports — the team of Pinoy standouts Armel "Armel" Tabios and Jaunuel "Jaunuel" Arcilla — which only collected a 5-9 win-loss slate after the conclusion of Group Stage 1.
Shopify Rebellion, the North American home of Filipinos Erin Jasper "Yopaj" Ferrer and Rolen Andrei Gabriel "skem" Ong, put up a gallant stand, but fell short of its campaign in Group A, placing fifth — a rank short of a Group Stage 2 berth.