Team Secret shakes its slump, advances in The International Dota 2 Championships

Team Secret entered The International as overwhelming favorites. Their play leading up to Seattle was close to perfection, and it felt like this team of All Star players would have a road through the competition similar to that of Newbee a year ago. People began to question them after a some disappointing games, but after a three-game series with Invictus Gaming we can say that Secret is back.

Early in Game 1, it was clear Secret were finally playing to their potential. Arteezy on Shadow Fiend got an astounding amount of farm, and Secret pressured early to firmly get the upper hand and developed a 20K gold lead. This was the Secret we thought would appear at TI:5 and the only thing that could possibly lose them the game was if BurNing got too much farm on Anti Mage.

That’s precisely what happened.

BurNing was a man possessed. With a full complement of items and solid support from his Invictus teammates he wrecked Secret with a series of Mana Voids in team fights. Over-aggressive play from S4 resulted in keeping him at too low mana, when opened up the potential for those big Mana Void plays. Secret played the game perfectly strategically, but execution fell apart in late team fights, which turned the game on its head and resulted in one of the most incredible comebacks we’ve ever seen in professional Dota 2. The crowd was electric.

It’s not uncommon to see teams crumble after a terrible Game 1 loss, but Team Secret has too many veterans to be put on tilt like that. The second game began and Secret were off to the races -- putting forth one of the most dominant games we’ve seen from any team at TI:5.

Arteezy played Luna and played absolutely perfectly. They showed similar aggression as they did in Game 1, but didn’t play passively when it counted. Instead they put their foot on the gas all game. Supports were picked off, IG’s carries couldn’t get farm and when the game was closing around the 20 minute mark we saw Team Secret supports picking up the kind of late-game items were’ accustomed to seeing at the 40 minute mark or later.

Team Secret played a similar lineup in Game 3 with Arteezy back on Luna, but things were very different. IG dropped an under-performing Phantom Lancer on BurNing and instead gave him Shadow Fiend. Secret aimed to end the game quickly, while IG were doing everything they could to push it as long as possible. This was truly Western Dota vs. Eastern Dota.

IG found ways to stay safe in the early game, but this didn’t last long. Arteezy made it past the dangerous early stages of playing a carry Luna, and remained toe-to-toe with SF on farm all game. Both teams traded team fights, but in each engagement Secret came out one hero ahead. This slowly built a lead that was too much for IG to overcome and neither Shadow Fiend nor Storm Spirit could close the gap. A five-man wipe at 38 minutes spelled the end for IG.

Team Secret’s road through The International might not be as simple or predictable as many had thought, but in many ways this is a lot more entertaining. Every great team needs to be beset with a little misfortune to test their mettle, and by seeing Team Secret fight their way back from near elimination, even the most hardcore critics will respect their game.