Cover-Credits:
As a result of Tundra Esports' flawless 7-0 record in Division I of the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) Western Europe (WEU) 2023 Tour 3, Team Secret will no longer be present in Division I. Coming into the series with just one win after six series, Clement "Puppey" Ivanov and his teammates gave it everything they had, but ultimately it wasn't enough. Even though Tundra was undefeated going into the contest, Secret presented the greatest challenge to them, showcasing sharp gameplay in all three games, but Tundra came out on top in the most crunch situations in games two and three to take it 2-1.
Tundra Esports vs Team Secret: Match recap and highlights
Recap
In game 1, both teams chose some of the patch's strongest heroes, with the exceptions of Necrophos for BOOM and Vengeful Spirit for Saksa. The first half of the game was largely even, with the highlight being Secret's ability to find several kills on opposing supports. As both teams got to greater item timings, the contest was neck and neck, but Secret came out on top with better target prioritization and flawless positioning. This allowed Secret to quickly move ahead of what appeared to be an equal game and win in 47 minutes.
Game 2 was an extremely tighter match, with both sides having chances to take the lead. The midlane was a particularly interesting battle, as both sides lost heroes in their pursuit of taking the lead for Ember Spirit for Armel and Queen of Pain for Nine. Both offlaners were getting killed a lot in the middle, but teamfights were quite even. Only around the 60-minute mark was Tundra able to fully utilize its heroes' mobility and take down the opponent cores without buyback to even the series.
In game 3, Armel was outplayed in the midlane by Nine, despite selecting Templar Assassin as the last choice to win the lane. Secret, however, quickly stabilized after the laning stage as it pushed the opponent tier 1 towers as a unit. Skiter on Sven and 33 on Tundra contributed to Tundra's networth edge as the game moved on since they farmed significantly more efficiently than others. While Secret did find kills, its map was shrinking, and it began to lack damage and control during teamfights. Tundra played its best game in the second half, winning in 40 minutes.
Highlights
Here are some highlights of the series.
The conclusion of the series presents contrasting outcomes, with Secret finishing at the bottom of the points table and Tundra reigning supreme, securing the top position with a remarkable streak of seven consecutive wins.
This will be especially difficult for Puppey, who is perhaps the only Dota 2 player who has consistently played at the highest levels of competitive gameplay. In the course of the year, his team has struggled to be competitive against the top teams in the region. Overall, the exit of some old players has seemingly adversely affected the performance of Secret.
The road to The International 12 (TI12) for Secret will now be very tough as it must make its way through qualifiers that will likely take place later this summer.
