Falling short last season, NXPE and TNC have made drastic changes and adjustments to their respective rosters, with NXPE having an entire roster revamp, while TNC goes aggressive in having a full 10-man lineup. With these shocking moves from both teams, will it finally be the key to victory they have been looking for to go far this season?

Starting off the first game, TNC initially banned sustain heroes such as the Fredrinn, Kaja and Faramis, meanwhile NXPE took away very mobile heroes such as the Joy, Wanwan, and Fanny. TNC drafted a safe and flexible Valentina pick, followed by the Hayabusa and the recently buffed Edith. On the other hand, NXPE drafted traditional meta heroes, namely Gloo, Karrie and Kadita. TNC’s overall composition contained a lot of mobility and reliable damage, while NXPE’s win condition revolved around crowd control and pickoff potential. 

Due to NXPE possessing the tank Karina, they were able to rotate faster, however BoyetDR was ambushed by TNC. Nonetheless, NXPE was able to trade off and still secure the first turtle. NXPE led when it came to neutral objectives, but TNC was able to snag kills as an exchange. Despite TNC’s aggression, NXPE’s objective taking enabled them to keep up with the Phoenix Army, which allowed them to later on retaliate. By the 9th minute of the game, NXPE clearly had the upper hand, with a 3,000 gold lead as the Lord was about to spawn. After securingthe first Lord, the map opened up in favor for the side of NXPE, 14 minutes into the game, it was NXPE’s game to lose; with an 8,000 gold lead, accompanied by a Luminous Lord, it was a one-way trip to TNC’s base. Although TNC defended for their lives, it did not stop NXPE’s aggression as they took the first game, 1-0.

For game 2, it was a full switcheroo for the side of TNC, maximizing their full 10-man roster. With this, the bans of NXPE shifted to possible comfort picks of their enemy instead of the previous bans on sustain heroes. NXPE secured a solid frontline with Yu Zhong and Fredrinn to protect their Karrie, meanwhile TNC wanted to go for assassin-type heroes with the likes of Benedetta and Kadita, accompanied by a Faramis to anchor teamfights. Above all of this, a highlight during this game’s drafting phase was the surprising Zilong on the gold lane. 

The Zilong truly served its purpose as a surprise factor, as TNC was able to draw first blood onto DomengDR’s Karrie. TNC continued to assert their aggression during the first 4 minutes of the game. Even though NXPE were able to fight back in skirmishes, TNC continued to secure kills and turrets all over the map. However, by the 7th minute, NXPE neutralized the Phoenix Army and later on took the upper hand, as DomengDR finally got his power spike, shredding members from the side of TNC. It was a back-and-forth game between the two teams, however the lead remained on the side of NXPE in terms of map pressure and gold. The Lord fight during the 17th minute was won by TNC, however NXPE cleared the Lord immediately. At this point, Ninjakilla needed to activate his game sense and plan out for possible backdoor or ambush plays as a Zilong. The rest of the game was “hide-and-seek” because of the Zilong playing mind games onto the side of NXPE, however after a set of deciding skirmishes, NXPE wiped out TNC, leaving the crystal exposed for NXPE to destroy. The newly revamped NXPE took the series 2-0 versus TNC, and it looks like they are hungry for more. 

DRAFT:

Game 1:

Game 2:

POST MATCH STATS:
Game 1: 

Game 2:

MVP: