The SEA regional groupstage of StarLadder X ended with a three-way tie for the first place between Titan, IAP.XctN and Johnny's Revenge. The situation had to be resolved through tiebreaker matches, with Execration taking down both Malaysian squads to secure a trip to Kiev's offline finals.
The fourth finalist of StarLadder X has been decided, after the thrilling conclusion of the SEA regional division. Titan, Johnny's Revenge and IAP.XctN were tied for the top spot with a 9-2 gamescore and the head-to-head results between the three teams were unable to designate the strongest competitor. Thus, tiebreaker matches were required to resolve the issue. In the end, Execration managed to remain undefeated throughout the extra round, rightfully earning the ticket to Ukraine.
The first match of the tiebreaker round was between Execration and Johnny's Revenge, with the Philippines squad opting for massive physical damage through multiple auras on their heroes. JR selected a nuke-based lineup which seemed to work quite well during the earlier stages of the game, but the weak pushing potential prevented them from capitalizing on any considerable advantage they earned. The battle between Execration and Titan was less one-sided, with the Malaysians showing absolute dominance through their well-timed rotations and ganks. Yet again, the lack of a solid late-game carry gave XctN the space for a comeback, winning several important late-game fights to earn their second consecutive victory in the tiebreakers.
Four more teams will qualify for Kiev through the European groupstage, scheduled to conclude in early October. So far, Team Tinker, SecretTeam, Na'Vi and Alliance are holding the top-four spots, but their lead is rather fragile. For a detailed schedule of StarLadder X, check out our coverage hub here.
