Team Secret may not have been part of the first Dota 2 Major, but it’s always foolish to count them out. The team was declared the champion of the recently concluded DreamLeague Season 13: Leipzig Major. Team Secret beat out Evil Geniuses 3-2 in the championship round to be crowned the winner.
Road to the Grand Finals
Team Secret had been a dominating force, even from the beginning of the tournament. This was also crucial for the team as this was the first time Lasse “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen was part of Secret for a Major tournament.
During the Group Stage, Secret managed to beat out Vici Gaming in the opening matches 2-1, and later on won against Chaos Esports Club 2-0.
This led Secret to the Playoffs with their first match against Fnatic. Fnatic won the first game but it was all Secret on games two and three to move to the next stage against Alliance. Team Secret dominated that match, with MATUMBAMAN getting 11-1 in the second game and Yazied “Yapzor” Jaradat ending with 10-0.
The Upper Bracket Finals were a rematch against VG, and Team Secret didn't have any problems and swept VG 2-0.
Evil Geniuses, meanwhile, had a good showing as well, dropping Nigma to the Lower Bracket before they themselves moved down in 0-2 loss against VG. EG worked its way back up by beating Invictus Gaming 2-1 and then Alliance 2-0. The Lower Bracket Finals was also a rematch against VG, but this time EG grabbed the win with Abed Azel “Abed” Yusop on Storm Spirit getting 14 kills and only one death.
Grand Finals
In the first game, EG slowly built its gold lead until the team reached 25,000. It didn’t help that Abed was on Templar Assassin with Artour “Arteezy” Babaev on Razor. The game was over in 45 minutes as Secret couldn’t really catch up.
For the second game, there was a lot of confusion, particularly on EG’s picks. It didn’t help that Michał “Nisha” Jankowski was able to pick Meepo. With MATUMBAMAN on Monkey King, EG didn’t have a change.
The third game was a change of pace as both teams picked heroes that made for a rather aggressive game. The lead changed between the two teams multiple times until just above the 40-minute mark. Team Secret was then wiped out, giving EG the win.
Team Secret took back control for game four. Secret had a good lead and wouldn’t look back. Roman “RAMZES666” Kushnarev on Batrider had problems throughout the game, ending with a meager two kills and 10 deaths.
The fifth game was pretty similar as EG had difficulty going against Secret’s picks. Team Secret got the win and grabbed the championship.
The win doesn’t just mean that Team Secret now has the points to be able to get an invite for The International 2020, it also marks their fifth ever first-place finish at a Valve-sponsored Major.
