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Team Secret started their Dota 2 The International 11 main event campaign with a win over PSG.LGD.
The European team swept their Chinese counterparts in the event’s second upper bracket fixture after the completion of the match-up between Evil Geniuses and Thunder Awaken.
Team Secret had an amazing start to the match, with every player picking heroes that corresponded with each other. Team Secret finished the first game of the series in 23 minutes after halting the moves of PSG.LGD’s Cheng “NothingToSay” Jin Xiang and Wang “Ame” Chunyu.
With those players taken care of, Michał “Nisha” Jankowski and Remco “Crystallis” Arets’ heroes, Leshrac and Dawnbreaker, were able to get past the frontline.
Roman “Resolut1on” Fomynok gave an equally impressive performance with Silencer, despite it being the player’s first time using the hero in a competitive Dota 2 game.
The second game of the match-up started in a similar manner between both teams, but PSG.LGD made it harder for Team Secret to seal off the game than they did in the previous game.
The first 25 minutes of the game saw both teams trading kills as they took the lead at several intervals. Team Secret were able to win the series using their Leshrac/Dawnbreaker duo from the first game and several initiations, as well as methods to put an end to critical options in late-game fights.
At the end of the series, Team Spirit’s lead in gold and XP was too large for the Chinese team to catch up with and helped the European team end the series as victors. Crystallis, who was Team Secret’s number-one player, gave an outstanding performance in both games using the Dawnbreaker. The match win has guaranteed Team Liquid at least a top-six finish in The International 11. This is the third time in a row that the European team led by Clement “Puppey” Ivanov have attained at least a top six finish in the tournament.
Crystallis stated in a post-game interview that the team’s goal has always been to go all the way and win the tournament.
“We wanted to come here to win TI… that was our plan from the beginning,” he said.
In their next outing, scheduled to be held on October 22, Team Secret will go up against Thunder Awaken, who triumphed over Evil Geniuses in the first fixture of the main event. The winner of the upper bracket semifinal match of the event will automatically secure at least a top-three finish in the tournament.
Team Secret are favorites to win the match on top esports betting sites, with odds pegged at $1.44.
If they defeat the South American team, it will be their second consecutive year securing a top-three finish at The International. For PSG.LGD, on the other hand, the loss moved them to the lower bracket of the Dota 2 tournament.
This is the first time the Chinese team will be dropping to the lower bracket since TI9. They will be taking on BOOM Esports on October 21 for a chance to remain in the tournament.
GG.BET has them as heavy favourites to win the match-up, with odds set at $1.36 as opposed to BOOM’s $3.03.
