TSM FTX outlast EG 3-2 to win the DPC NA Regional Finals
A new team has risen to take the throne of North American Dota. TSM FTX claimed the championship of the 2021-2022 Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) Winter Tour Regional Finals for the region after they outlasted Evil Geniuses (EG) 3-2 in a thriller of a grand finals.
TSM FTX entered the competitive Dota 2 scene with the signing of Team Undying, who qualified for the Regional Finals as the second seed of the North American regional league.
TSM began their Regional Finals campaign with a resounding 2-0 sweep over EG in the first round of the upper bracket.
They then punched their ticket to the grand finals with a 2-1 victory over top-seeded Quincy Crew in the upper bracket finals.
Meanwhile, EG's path to a grand finals rematch with TSM saw them sweep 4 Zoomers in the first round of the lower bracket before outlasting Quincy Crew 2-1 in the lower bracket finals.
Timado and Bryle power TSM FTX in games two and four
After EG took a 57-minute victory in the series opener, TSM looked to bounce back behind Enzo "Timado" Gianoli's Morphling and Jonathan "Bryle" De Guia's Storm Spirit.
Backing up that one-two punch was some potent teamfight control from Jonáš "SabeRLight-" Volek's Dark Seer, David "MoonMeander" Tan's Mirana, and Kim "DuBu" Doo-Young's Bane.
Bryle's Storm Spirit fueled TSM through a closely-contested early-to-mid game, giving Timado's Morphling much-needed space to farm and eventually become the team's prime win condition.
Once the Morphling fully came online, TSM started pulling ahead as EG were unable to match the firepower coming from both Timado and Bryle.
TSM were able to force the GG call from EG after 41 minutes of action to tie up the series 1-1. Bryle led the way with 13 kills and 14 assists against three deaths while Timado pitched in with 10 kills and 12 assists of his own against just two deaths.
EG took a close win in game three to head into the pivotal fourth game of the series with a commanding 2-1 lead.
With TSM's backs against the wall, Timado on Morphling once more and Bryle on Queen of Pain stepped up to the plate to force the series to a deciding game five.
Much like game two, Bryle was tasked with making plays in the early-to-mid game to give Timado's Morphling enough space to farm and eventually carry their team to victory.
TSM's midlaner played his part well and then some, wreaking havoc on EG's lines and dominating the teamfights.
TSM forced the series to a decider after the most one-sided game of the finals, where they finished with a 25-11 kill lead and a 15,000 net worth lead in 37 minutes of action.
Bryle notched 12 kills and seven assists against just one death in that victory, with Timado (almost) mirroring that statline with seven kills, 12 assists, and one death.
TSM dominate game five to clinch the championship
TSM had all the momentum in the world heading into game five, where they drafted a beastly midgame lineup headed by Troll Warlord for Timado, Ember Spirit for Bryle, and Night Stalker for SabeRLight.
MoonMeander on Shadow Shaman and DuBu on Treant Protector brought up the rear and provided key disables for their cores.
While EG were able to keep things close in the early game, TSM pulled ahead in the midgame once their lineup hit its power spike.
Timado proved to be a formidable frontliner with Troll Warlord's Battle Trance ultimate forcing EG to focus him in fights, giving Bryle's Ember Spirit and SaberLight's Night Stalker free rein to run rampant on the enemy team.
With their opponents sure to win any head-on clashes, EG resorted to hunting for pickoffs with Smoke of Deceit to try and spark a comeback.
However, TSM managed to repel those desperate attempts and add further pressure on EG.
Despite EG's best efforts to defend, they could do little to stop TSM as they bulldozed their way to a 38-minute victory.
TSM's cores each had six kills to combine for 18 of their team's 24 total kills to help secure the 3-2 series victory and the Regional Finals championship.
As the new top dogs of North America, TSM took home the Regional Finals grand prize of US$50,000 and 250 DPC points. Meanwhile, EG settle for second place and will take home US$25,000 and 130 DPC points in consolation.
The Winter Tour Regional Finals took place across the weekends of 11 to 13 February and 18 to 20 February, with three regions competing in each weekend. It featured the Top 4 teams of the DPC's six regions competing for their cut of a US$100,000 prize pool and all-important DPC points.
For everything you need to know about the Winter Tour Regional Finals, check here.
TSM FTX roster:
Enzo "Timado" Gianoli
Jonathan "Bryle" De Guia
Jonáš "SabeRLight-" Volek
David "MoonMeander" Tan
Kim "DuBu" Doo-Young
Evil Geniuses roster:
Artour "Arteezy" Babaev
Azel “Abed” Yusop
Egor "Nightfall" Grigorenko
Andreas Franck "Cr1t-" Nielsen
Jesse "JerAx" Vainikka
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