Collecting runes as quickly as possible boosted TNC Predator’s 2-0 sweep of Neon Sports Sunday in winning the All-Filipino grand finals of the Asia Pacific Predator League.
Team members quickly adjusted to a game patch which had runes being generated or spawned at a faster rate of one every three minutes.
Runes are special boosters that spawn on the game map. And these Runes come in two kinds.
There’s the Bounty Runes that can be picked up for extra gold and the Power-up Runes, which grant heroes a variety of buffs and effects for a short period of time.
“Iyung bounty runes, every three minutes na. Ang ginawa ng Neo, nakakalimutan nila na every three minutes na,” said TNC Predator’s Timothy “Tims” Randrup in a Zoom web conference after the match.
TNC members quickly dove into the new DOTA 7.29 version after it was activated for the finals.
In the remodeled game, TNC Predator was able to find items and boosters to bolster its stand against Neo during the two matches.
Dota 2 is a multiplayer online battle arena video game in which two teams of five players compete to collectively destroy a large structure defended by the opposing team known as the “Ancient”, while also defending their own turf.
In Game 1, Neon’s Erin Jasper “Yopaj” Ferrer took the initiative when he grabbed the Aegis of the Immortal from TNC.
The Aegis of the Immortal is an item which allows their hero to resurrect after dying.
And with TNC Predator gaining 21,000 golds, Kim “Gabbi” Villafuerte took charge with Armel “Armel” Tabios’ wielding the alacrity-powered Invoker as they took Game 1 after eliminating Neon’s Gyrocopter in the middle lane.
In the rematch, Armel Tabios stunned the opposition by playing Bristleback at the middle lane.
With help coming from Marvin Rushton’s Winter Wyvern, Tabios quickly collected core items to gain enough strength to withstand Neon’s offense.
The TNC Predator roster includes Kim “Gabbi” Villafuerte, Armel Paul “Armel” Tabios, Jun “Bok” Kanehara, Timothy “Tims” Randrup and Marvin “Boomy” Rushton.
OB.Neon is composed of John Anthony “Natsumi” Vargas, Erin Jasper “Yopaj” Ferrer, Prieme, Ejay “PlayHard” Maque, Rolen Andrei Gabriel “skem” Ong and Jaunuel “Jaunuel” Arcilla.