Team Secret emerge victorious at Chongqing Major

gabhernandez Published 29/01/2019

Team Secret earned a position atop the Dota Pro Circuit standings by winning the Chongqing Major.

After getting bumped out of the upper bracket finals by Virtus.pro, Team Secret’s star players found their tournament lives at stake. Evil Geniuses was a threat coming off of a great lower bracket run, but Team Secret quickly asserted their dominance and eliminated the NA hopefuls.

The grand finals would then see a rematch between Virtus.pro and Team Secret, and the series was a nail-biter. Secret was able to overcome Virtus.pro’s raw power with eccentric drafts, flawless gank executions, and solid defense.

Team Secret stomped Virtus.pro in the first game as Michał “Nisha” Jankowski’s Phantom Lancer quickly became unkillable. Virtus.pro crumbled as the game ended in just 21 minutes with a 20-9 kill count favoring Secret.

The second game left fans in awe before it was even underway due to an unusual draft from Team Secret. Secret captain Clement “Puppey” Ivanov picked Drow Ranger for the team’s carry while Luna and Sven were chosen as supports. The three heroes played a tri-lane against Virtus.pro’s Phantom Assassin core flanked by more traditional supports Tusk and Lion.

Although experts on the broadcast panel were quick to question the odd draft, Team Secret made it look sensible. They abused their heroes’ amplified damage and attack speed and Virtus.pro was unable to contest the lane’s surprising effectiveness.

The fast-paced game was ended in just 17 minutes thanks in large part to Yeik “MidOne” Nai Zheng’s Outworld Devourer dealing massive damage during team fights.

Virtus.pro seemed to find their stride in the third game and quashed Team Secret’s hope of a sweep. The game lasted 40 minutes as Roman “RAMZES666” Kushnarev’s Phantom Lancer repeatedly managed to escape Secret’s many CC abilities, eventually scaling so far up that Secret could no longer contest the game.

Team Secret bounced back to show that they are the better team during the fourth game with outstanding performances again from Nisha and MidOne. It was Virtus.pro who this time tried a Sven support, combining with Grimstroke and Doom in the hopes of creating big plays on the map. But Secret was having none of it, winning the fourth and final game of the series in emphatic fashion.

Team Secret earned $350,000 and 4,950 DPC points for the win. Both Secret and Virtus.pro locked in their spots at The International through circuit points awarded in the final.

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