MANILA — With the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) Southeast Asia Division 1 leg coming to a thrilling close, Filipino players are now gearing up for the next big tournament in the Dota community — the Lima Major 2023.
A handful of Filipino teams and players competed in the SEA DPC in January for three coveted slots in the Lima Major.
And although Filipinos dominated the SEA DPC in terms of quantity, the number of the Pinoy players in the tournament quickly dwindled as foreign teams and players showcased their talent for the game.
Eventually, only eight Filipino players managed to secure a slot in the Lima Major.
The first SEA team to qualify for the Major was Execration — the only all-Filipino team to advance to the said tournament.
Execration roster (Filipino team):
Juan Carlo Manalo -BDz (Captain)
Jinn Marrey Lamatao - Palos
Mark Anthony Urbina - Bob
Justine Ryan Evangelista Grimaldo - Tino
Mark Jubert Redira - Shanks
Execration also finished the DPC SEA Div 1 leg with flying colors, having a nearly flawless record of 6-1.
The next SEA team to qualify for the Lima Major was Malaysia-based Geek Slate.
Having finished the DPC SEA Tour with a 5-2 record, Geek Slate, which has three Filipinos in its ranks, ended the DPC in second.
Geek Slate roster:
Rolen Andrei Gabriel Ong - skem (Filipino)
Joshua Maraño - Kokz (Filipino)
Nikko Bilocura - Force (Filipino)
Ravdan Narmandakh - NARMAN
Roger Tan Boon Thye - Roddgeee
The third and last SEA team to qualify for the Lima Major was Talon Esports — the only team who competed in the DPC SEA Div 1 leg without a Filipino player in its roster. Ironically, Talon is a Philippine-based team alongside Execration.
North American team Shopify Rebellion is also one of the teams heading to the Lima Major 2023 with a Filipino player in its lineup.
Shopify Rebellion roster:
Tal Aizik - Fly (Captain)
Artour Babaev - Arteezy
Abed Yusop - Abed (Filipino)
Jonas Volek - SabeRLight-
Andreas Nielsen - Cr1t-
The upcoming tournament will be held in Lima, Peru from Feb. 22 until March 5. It is one of the three Majors that will be held in 2023, eventually leading up to Dota's biggest annual tournament, The International.