Cover image source: EPICENTER
Secret are looking like the team to beat at Kuala Lumpur as they breezed through group A on day 1. After a dominant showing in the first series, they took down NiP to emerge as the number 1 seed from the group. Pain Gaming were able to beat J.Storm but fell to NiP shortly after and will now start in the lower bracket.
Some smart drafting a good performance by Secret’s new carry player got his team the win over EU counterparts, NiP. In game 1, Secret destroyed Fata’s Huskar from the laning phase and there was little PPD’s team could do against a farmed Morphling. In game 2, NiP again went for the Huskar, and it cost them again as Midone’s signature Monkey King snowballed off the laning phase. He roamed effectively, finding kills across the map, once again allowing Nisha’s TB to come online. With very little control on their side, NiP lost multiple teamfights and were never in contention to make any sort of comeback.
SA’s Pain Gaming, came back from a game down to beat J.Storm 2-1. Their first draft was incredibly ambitious and off meta and J.Storm were able to punish them to take the lead. In game 2, Pain drafted a Visage for w33 who was able to use his tanky build to pressure the map heavily. The J.Storm side could never initiate as the Earthshaker and ET picks coming out Pain were too scary in teamgfights. Misery’s team played it out with relative ease and took a sub 30-minute win, never really allowing the NA org to come online. In the decider, hFn’s Luna along with Kingrd’s Io laid waste to J.Storm’s lineup as the high control, high damage lineup was always able to approach the fights with a man advantage.
The rematch between NiP and Pain, saw the exact same result as the earlier matchup, as NiP took down Pain 2-0. The last pick Broodmother from NiP in game 1, caught out Pain who never could recover from a devastating laning phase. In game 2, it was Ace again who tormented the South American side, this time on Spectre as he preyed on the squishy supports like the Wyvern and the Earth Spirit. Eventually, his farm was too much for Pain to contend with and their lineup looked helpless against the Spectre’s Haunt.
Upper bracket pic.twitter.com/64oZCpTWs1
— Peter Dager (@Peterpandam) November 9, 2018
Secret and NiP will start in the upper bracket while Pain Gaming and J.Storm will have to do with a lower bracket start.