TSM win NA region thanks to victory over Shopify Rebellion

Tour 1 of Dota Pro Circuit 2023 has finally ended in the North American region and the winner is not the team that we expected. Both Shopify Rebellion and TSM entered the final match of the competition undefeated, and the former was looking considerably stronger.

However, thanks to some really nice drafts that focused on Lina and Treant Protector, TSM managed to outmaneuver Rebellion and win with very little effort. In game one, TSM were 2300 gold behind at the 10-minute mark. But by the 15-minute mark, the game was even and everything went in their favor after that.

This was a classic example of what happens when you get read like a book and outdrafted. Rebellion simply tried more of what had worked before. But TSM studied them carefully and eventually discovered their flaws. The drafts were specifically chosen to exploit those flaws and the strategy worked not once but twice.

TSM’s surprising win

The reason why TSM’s win is surprising is that Rebellion stole one of their best players prior to the start of the season. Jonas “SabeRLight-” Volek is now Rebellion’s offlaner and the rest of the squad is world-class. Because of these reasons, Tal “Fly” Aizik’s team was expected to win.

It’s really hard to compare TSM’s roster to Rebellion’s. The difference of individual skill and experience is huge. But despite all that, TSM came in prepared and upset their plans.

This victory earned them 300 DPC points. Rebellion will need to be satisfied with just 180. The difference is substantial and may come back to haunt Fly near the end of the season.

The match needed just two games to conclude. The first lasted 48 minutes while the second lasted almost 35 minutes. Fly wanted to play a Tusk draft in both games and failed miserably. In every major team fight, TSM had a lot more damage than Rebellion and were able to kill targets much quicker as a result.

Lina’s bursts were decisive, but Treant also hit some good ultimates. The rest of the crew had very little to do to ensure TSM’s success.

Aftermath

Both teams qualified for the Lima Major, and the prize money offered to the runner-up was almost as good as the one offered to the winner. The only real loss for Rebellion were the 120 DPC points. And, of course, a little bit of prestige. From now on, they will be regarded as the second-best team in the region.

Header: Valve Corporation