A day ago, Team Secret met EG in the grand finale of the ESL Birmingham 2019. EG made its way from the upper bracket and shocked everyone by beating by some of the best teams. Meanwhile, Secret had to take the long road since the EU side didn’t had the best of starts and had to compete in the lower bracket. Nonetheless, they were crowned as the champions!
The two sides met each other on several occasions during the 2018-2019 DPC. Yet Secret came out on top on almost every time. But this time around things looked different for EG since the side broke the “third place curse” and proved that they are no pushovers. The first game of the series had an exciting start, since both teams came out all guns blazing. Secret eventually got control of the game, but that didn’t stop EG to hold the game and eventually turning it in their favor. Unfortunately, at the end the aggressive play style of Secret was not countered by EG.
THIS MAN IS ABSOLUTELY INSANE ON RUBICK! @YapzOrdota is just STYLING on @EvilGeniuses! ?#ESLOne
?? https://t.co/RUTJQiyOsP pic.twitter.com/J4jXKsncwj
— ESL Dota2 (@ESLDota2) June 2, 2019
EG had no plans to lose the finale and in the next games comprehensively dominated the game from start to finish. The team successfully adapted the quick playing style of their opponents and managed to level the series 1-1. In the game three, Secret exhibited why they were the No.1 team in the global as the team secured another win of the series after a phenomenal Black hole from Yazied ‘YapzOr’ Jaradat.
Clash of the titans
Now heading into the fourth game, Secret was just one win away from claiming the title. Yet EG proved again that they are no pushovers. IO was picked by Secret for the third in a row. Yet the OP draft was not enough since the Mars and Ancient Apparition combo proved to be too powerful as Secret got only six kills. Now, with series tied 2-2, we made our way to the fifth and final game of the series.
BLACK HOOOOOOOOOOOLEEE!@YapzOrdota with the epic 3-man against @EvilGeniuses secures @teamsecret‘s second win of the series! Game 4 to start soon ?
?? https://t.co/RUTJQiyOsP pic.twitter.com/230223bG94
— ESL Dota2 (@ESLDota2) June 2, 2019
We believe that the fifth game was one of the best games of the entire competition. Since both teams exchanged kills from the first. For the the entire 40 minutes of the game, no one was establish a solid lead. But at the end of week, it was Secret that continued its legacy of being one of the most ruthless teams at the ESL one competition. Secret truly deserves to take home the trophy since they had they simply dominated the competition. This victory marks their 4th title in the ESL. Captain Clement “Puppey” Ivanov took home the Mercedes-Benz MVP award.
Now the teams will be looking to prepare themselves for the Minors and the Majors taking place in the next couple of weeks. We really hope to see a new meta getting popped up since 14 days will be enough to learn everything about the patch. At the end of the EPICENTER, we will know the names of the last three team that will be competing in The International 9 via DPC points.