Cover-Credits:
Team Secret moves on into the Grand Finals of The International 2022 (TI11) after defeating fellow Western Europe (WEU) rivals Team Liquid in the Lower Bracket Finals. Team Secret dropped down to the Lower Bracket after it lost against Tundra Esports earlier yesterday in the Upper Bracket. But it had one more chance to make it into the Grand Finals, but had to go through a familiar foe in Team Liquid to get there.
While both teams had performed above expectations coming through the Last Chance Qualifiers, Team Liquid’s journey will end here after it lost to its fellow rivals. As for Lasse "MATUMBAMAN" Urpalainen, he ends his professional career with a third place finish with Team Liquid at TI11.
Team Secret vs Team Liquid: Match Recap
While Team Secret had an easier route in the upper bracket, Team Liquid were forced to go through the perilous waters of the Lower Bracket to at least guarantee itself a top three finish at TI11.
Game One
Team Secret started Game 1 by picking up Morphling, Sniper and Beastmaster as the core lineup, while Liquid went for late game potential as it picked up Lifestealer, Primal Beast & Enigma as the main lineup.
The early game went in favor of Team Liquid, as Lasse "MATUMBAMAN" Urpalainen’s Lifestealer and Micheal “miCKe” Vu’s Primal Beast heavily focused on Remco "Crystallis" Arets’s Sniper. However, going into the mid-game phase, Liquid’s enemy prioritization was misplaced as Michał "Nisha" Jankowski’s Morphling turned out to be the main damage dealer for Team Secret.
Game One ended fairly quickly, as Team Secret claimed the first match of the series just before the 28th minute mark.
Game Two
With one game away from elimination, Team Liquid were looking to even things out as it drafted Sniper for MATUMBAMAN and Tiny for miCKe. Team Secret on the other hand opted for a different approach as they drafted Monkey King for Crystallis & Queen of Pain for Nisha.
While the early game was between both teams, Team Liquid were going on the offensive as the Sniper-Tiny combo were providing a lot of damage output for Liquid, while Ludwig “zai” Wåhlberg’s Broodmother provided the tower pushing potential.
Despite Secret’s attempt to delay the game to allow its core heroes to achieve its late game potential, their efforts ended up in vain as Liquid claimed Game Two after 39 minutes.
Game Three
With the series coming down to a best of one, both teams were hoping to make it to the Grand Finals themselves however only one team may advance. Team Secret went for an all-rounded draft, with Drow Ranger, Invoker & Beastmaster as the core heroes. On the opposite corner, Liquid went all-in on an aggressive draft by picking up Lifestealer, Lina and Brewmaster as the main lineup.
While the laning phase went in favor of Team Liquid, the mid-game phase had all sorts of action and antics as both teams heavily traded blows, however Secret won most of the team fights. With Liquid running out of options going into the late, the team attempted to defend its base however to no avail as Secret went on to claim Game Three after 38 minutes.
Following the series, Team Secret will move on to face Tundra Esports in the TI11 Grand Finals later today. However for Liquid, it would have to make do with a third place finish and for MATUMBAMAN, it’s the end of his professional career following this series.
