Dota 2 The International results: Team Secret eliminated from TI:5

The International rolls on and everyone is still talking about Techies. Aui picked the game-altering hero in a must-win game for Evil Geniuses, not only throwing off EHOME but making a larger point to Valve about keeping Techies in the game. Aui has been vocal about his dislike for the hero, saying it changes Dota for the worse -- but when it counted he leaned on the disruption the hero caused.

Thursday is a day of must-win series juxtaposed with a lot of goofiness. It’s going to be a long day of play for Vici Gaming, who need to play two series today in order to keep their hopes alive. Meanwhile European Dota’s hopes will be halved with Virtus Pro facing off against favorites Team Secret, and one team will go home.

The All-Star match should be a ton of fun. Last year we got to see Techies for the first time, and there are always plenty of surprises as players team up, talk trash and play a goofy game full of heroes we never see. Will we see Abyssal Underlord and Arc Warden? It’ll be fun to watch either way.

The crowd was firmly behind MVP Phoenix for their gutsy play and surprising hero selection. Both teams showed surprising hands in Game 1 with MVP selecting Slark, and Vici playing the out-of-favor Morphling. That Morphling pick was the difference-maker with a strong Eye of Skadi/Linken’s Sphere build that couldn’t be matched by QO on Slark.

Vici Gaming turned up the heat in Game 2. Selecting a traditional power lineup of Lina, Rubick, Broodmother, Storm Spirit and Earthshaker they pressured early and got out to a big lead. It appeared they were making a mistake by allowing Naga Siren free farm and a 20-minute Radiance, but there was no support for kpii. QO was shut down on Queen of Pain, and the gulf of net worth proved insurmountable.

Thank you, MVP Phoenix, for being an incredibly fun team to watch.

Details for this game can be found here.

It was disappointing to see EHOME’s run end. They were an incredibly entertaining team at TI:5, but in the end Vici Gaming was just too much.

There wasn’t a single defining characteristic that lost or won this series. Both teams played signature Dota and played it very well, it was simply a case of Vici synergizing a little better and showing better execution in team fights. That said, EHOME can hold their heads high. They entered TI:5 being far from the most decorated Chinese team, but strong team play took them further than anyone expected.

This game was a total mess. Details can be found here.