Out of every Dota 2 team that was competing in the BTS Pro Series season three Southeast Asia bracket, Motivate.Trust Gaming was probably somewhere in the middle of the pack in terms of who fans thought would perform well.
But after a solid group stage performance and getting knocked into the lower bracket in the first round, Souliya “JaCkky” Khoomphetsavong and his team put together a massive run to the title with a 3-0 sweep of BOOM Esports to win it all.
During that run, they had to take down two teams picked above them to win the event, Neon Esports and Among Us. In the Among Us matchup, the team of SEA legends led by Abed Yusop and Anucha “Jabz” Jirawong were responsible for knocking MG.Trust into the lower bracket.
That lower bracket finals series was probably the closest of the entire event, with every game swinging back and forth as the lead changed. MG.Trust lost the first match, but pulled off some crazy comebacks to close out the series with two tight wins to put an end to the stacked team’s fun.
In comparison, MG.Trust didn’t have as much trouble taking down BOOM 3-0, though the first match was pretty much anyone’s game until the final minutes.
This was MG.Trust’s first time competing in a tier-two event and they walked away with a big win and $21,000.
The organization, formed in 2010, only picked up a Dota 2 roster at the end of 2019 before making a few changes in February to try and make a run in SEA. In the past, they have performed decently in tier-three events, but now they should be looked at as a squad that has some solid potential for growth.
Looking back on the entirety of this BTS Pro Series season, Fnatic’s new roster and TNC Predator both heavily underperformed, while BOOM continue to show they can compete at the highest level, at least within their region.
Among Us will be breaking up now that the tournament is over, with Abed and Nuengnara “23savage” Teeramahanon returning to their normal rosters. The remaining three players, Carlo “Kuku” Palad, Jabz, and Matthew “Whitemon” Filemon are currently teamless, but that likely won’t last much longer.
