Just when some fans were beginning to doubt Team Secret’s ability to compete against the best Dota 2 squads in the world, the European all-stars managed to secure a convincing victory over CDEC during the second match-up of the Dota 2 Shanghai Major Group Stages.
Game One started at a blistering pace as both squads set new 6.86 team records for the time it took to drop their first towers. Team Secret succeeded first, breaking their post-six-minute average by taking the bottom tower in less than five, but CDEC only needed an extra minute to level the playing field. The action remained tense for most of the match, with both teams tied at just three kills(!) and three towers each at the 20 minute mark. But CDEC began to pull away late, wiping Team Secret just shy of the 28 minute mark and claiming their first tier three tower a short time later. By 31 minutes, they were up 15 kills to five. And CDEC never looked back.
The victors weren’t nearly as patient in the second match, either. First blood came much earlier, just before 3 minutes as opposed to 14, and the team continued to push what was already an impressively quick pace. Numerous early ganks on EternalEnVy’s Clinkz actually kept the hero at record-low farm levels during the first five minutes of the game. But Team Secret managed to hold off the assault, turning the match’s momentum with a Ravage and Black Hole combo – plus a little help from w33’s Invoker – just shy of the eight minute mark. Lock down Enigma play from Puppey would give the rest of Secret a chance to catch up on farm and ultimately brought the team its first victory of the tournament.
The action slowed back down in the final game of the Best of Three series. It was clear neither team wanted to be caught out of position, with both squads playing more conservative during the opening moments of Game Three. CDEC controlled the early momentum, snagging first blood and several early ganks on lone Secret players, but couldn’t seem to put together the team fights necessary to win their first match-up of the Dota 2 Shanghai Major Group Stage. In the end, EternalEnVy would secure the win for Team Secret, bolstered by another amazing Enigma performance from Puppey, with a beautiful triple kill on high ground that left CDEC with little choice but to call “GG”.
Game One
Results: CDEC Wins (34:15)
Secret’s Line-Up: Tusk (Puppey), Nature’s Prophet (MISERY), Bristleback (EternalEnvy), Outworld Devourer (w33) and Dazzle (pieliedie)
CDEC’s Line-Up: Enchantress (Q), Faceless Void (Xz), Lina (Garder), Puck (ShiKi) and Sven (Agressif)
Game Two
Results: Team Secret Wins (24:27)
Secret’s Line-Up: Enigma (Puppey), Tidehunter (MISERY), Clinkz (EternalEnVy), Invoker (w33) and Vengeful Spirit (pieliedie)
CDEC’s Line-Up: Enchantress (Q), Faceless Void (Xz), Rubick (Garder), Razor (ShiKi) and Weaver (Agressif)
Game Three
Results: Team Secret Wins (32:51)
Secret’s Line-Up: Enigma (Puppey), Tidehunter (MISERY), Spectre (EternalEnVy), Invoker (w33) and Lion (pieliedie)
CDEC’s Line-Up: Disruptor (Q), Faceless Void (Xz), Night Stalker (Garder), Lina (ShiKi) and Clinkz (Agressif)
Top Plays
CDEC pushes for high ground during Game One
A CDEC gank attempt falls to the Ravage/Black Hole combo
Garder catches MISERY getting a bit greedy with his farm
But MISERY gets his revenge later in the match with a killer bait
One last triple kill secures Game Three for Team Secret
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