Cover-Credits:
In the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) Western Europe (WEU) 2021-22 Tour 1 Division 1, Nigma Galaxy has finally pulled off its first series win, defeating Team Secret 2-0. For Nigma Galaxy, who had suffered three losses in a row and had been looking very mediocre in their performances, this was a very important series. Both games, however, saw Nigma Galaxy improvise a bit in the drafts, a move that caught Team Secret off guard. These drafts were also executed flawlessly by Nigma Galaxy, as they gained early leads and gradually won both games.
Nigma Galaxy vs Team Secret: Match Recap and Highlights
Recap
Game 1 saw Nigma Galaxy pick up a safelane Queen of Pain, a mid Doom, and an offlane Kunkka. It went very well for Nigma Galaxy during the laning phase as they emerged on top on all three lanes. A lot of random skirmishes followed but Nigma Galaxy found the most critical pickoffs. Team Secret's cores were unable to gain much space and Nigma Galaxy won the game in 40 minutes on the back of a convincing performance.
Game 2 saw Nigma Galaxy once again put iLTW on the safelane Queen of Pain while giving Miracle- a mid Medusa. As a result of picking Medusa last, she had favorable matchups against all enemy heroes. Nigma Galaxy played slowly, knowing that it was impossible for Team Secret to do anything but watch Miracle- farm incessantly. Despite a couple of unforced errors by Nigma Galaxy, Miracle- proved too formidable, helping the team win in 38 minutes.
Highlights
Here are some highlights of the series.
There are not many instances where Clement "Puppey" Ivanov gets out strategized during drafting, but one took place today when Kuro "KuroKy" Salehi Takhasomi, who has done this before, took over the opposing spot. The drafts from Nigma Galaxy were different from what they had been doing in the past series, with the most noticeable change being Amer "Miracle-" al-Barkawi being the win condition in both games.
Nigma Galaxy badly needed this win and it will ease some of the pressure surrounding getting relegated to Division 2. The team has yet to face Alliance and COOLGUYS, the two teams that have looked the weakest along with them so far.
After losing to OG in its debut DPC 2021-22 series, Team Secret had looked phenomenal, but this unexpected loss, considering Nigma Galaxy’s recent form, dents its chances of occupying higher spots in the tournament. The team’s next series will be against Team Liquid on 21st Dec 2021 while Nigma Galaxy faces Alliance on 5th Jan 2022.
