TNC Predators defeat local hope Signify at ESL One Mumbai

Signify did its best to represent Indian Dota 2, but wasn’t quite able to find victory against one of the world’s top veteran teams.

Following the withdrawal of several teams from ESL One Mumbai, Indian squad Signify had the chance to compete in front of a live crowd as hometown favorites. Instead of forging their way to the finals and winning over the world with an electrifying victory, the little-known team was given a swift loss at the hands of TNC Predator to eliminate the local team from the event.

Both games followed the same basic format. TNC converted a modest early farm lead from the laning phase into mid-game team fights, which led to a further snowballing effect that carried TNC to victory.

In the first game, all of TNC’s core players shined with Carlo “Kuku” Palad racking up kills while Armel Paul “Armel” Tabios raked in enough gold to solidify TNC in the late game. In the second, Armel went wild for TNC, scoring 17 of the team’s 34 kills as Lina to propel TNC to a convincing win. That sealed up a 2-0 series victory for TNC, and sent Signify home early.

Is the Signify Dota 2 team any good?

Signify entered the event as the clear underdogs at the tournament and faced long odds when it came to progressing. Though ESL One Mumbai didn’t include any of the Dota 2 elite, the competitive field was comprised largely of such established squads as Mineski and Keen Gaming.

The Signify Dota 2 team was initially a Southeast Asian group that later transformed to become an all-Indian squad. With tournament organizers looking to establish themselves in the Indian market, Signify has made the most of local opportunities by taking first place in events like ESL India Premiership 2018 Winter and ROG Onslaught. But while Signify is firmly established as India’s best Dota 2 team, the squad hasn’t been able to break out of that regional bubble.

Signify has repeatedly tried to swim through the open qualifiers to larger tournaments with minimal success. The team has also found opportunities to compete in relatively prestigious tournaments like the PVP Esports Championship and the Asia Pacific Predator League 2019, again with little success.

With little roster turnover on Signify and a large sample size of poor results, it does not seem like the team has what they need to break through to that next level. But with tournament organizers regularly making trips to India these days, Signify could certainly do worse than being the country’s best team.

What’s next at ESL One Mumbai?

Signify was among the three teams eliminated from ESL One Mumbai on the second day of the playoffs. Joining them as first round eliminations are CompLexity Gaming, who started in the lower bracket and were dealt a loss at the hands of CIS team The Pango. The second round of the lower bracket kicked off shortly thereafter, with Team Team also being eliminated by TNC Predator.

Day three will include three series with two more teams being sent home. The day will open with an intriguing lower bracket matchup between The Pango and Keen Gaming, with the loser going home and the winner moving on to face TNC later that day in another elimination series. In the upper bracket, Natus Vincere will look to stay hot for a matchup against Mineski, with the winner moving on to the grand finals.

Though there are no Dota Pro Circuit points on the line, there is a decent chunk of change up for grabs with a $135,000 top prize.