If you’re looking for a game to watch over the weekend, then head on over to Dota 2. Two of Southeast Asia’s top teams are going head-to-head in a showmatch for charity. The best-of five game is going to be held tomorrow, April 18, at 5:00 a.m. EDT.
What’s going to be even more exciting is that both teams are going to play with the Reverse Captain’s Mode. If you’re familiar with the game, Captain’s Mode is the standard format for tournaments. Reverse Captain’s Mode follows pretty much that format with one big exception. The captain of one team gets to choose what heroes the other team plays. That means TNC gets to pick the heroes Fnatic plays and Fnatic gets to do the same. It’s going to be fun to watch and possibly a bit painful for the players.
If you’re wondering how this came about, then you’re in for a treat. It started when Fnatic won the SEA leg of the ESL One Los Angeles 2020. Fnatic posted on Facebook with this meme.
Quick realization, someone's been missing on parties. ?
It didn’t take long for TNC to answer back with this:
TNC 'bout to get sad upon seeing Fnatic meme but suddenly realized something odd hmmmm ???
— TNC Predator ?? (@TNCPredator) April 3, 2020
See Fnatic's post here: https://t.co/BIbiec7oHJ pic.twitter.com/LNo8ElqDcC
After that, it became a meme war with even other SEA teams joining in on the fun like this one:
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This back and forth between the two teams eventually led to what is now a showmatch. Some fans are even comparing it to professional wrestling where two stars start a feud that eventually ends in a fight.
In a joint statement, the two teams said that while the banter and meme war was indeed fun, all teams in the SEA region “are actually close friends and we have always been supportive of each other in every situation.” The two teams went on to say that as representatives of the region, they “have a duty and responsibility to do well on the international stage, so you, the community can be proud of us and our region.”
This event would not have been possible, according to TNC and Fnatic, without the hard work in the back-end from both organizations. The showmatch is going to double as a donation drive, with proceed to be donated to the WHO’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.
While the two teams gave the assurance that there's going to be an English language cast of the showmatch, no other details were given. So, where can you watch the game? It's probably going to be on the Dota 2 client over at Steam and could be posted as the tournament schedule nears. If you don't have that, your best bet would be to head on over to Fnatic's official Twitch channel here.
So who's side are you on? Let us know in the comments section below.
