Nisha with Team Secret at the Epicenter 2019

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Team Secret Avoids the ITB Scare in TI11 WEU Qualifier Opener

Rakshak Kathuria
Updated On: 
Highlights
Team Secret beat Into The Breach 2-1 in the opening series of TI11's WEU qualifier.
Into The Breach provided stiff competition and made Secret sweat a little, even winning the second game, but was unable to win the series.
Secret will next play against the winner of Alliance vs Entity in the upper bracket while Into The Breach faces Water Rune Enjoyers.

While Team Secret came into The International 11 (TI11)’s Western Europe qualifier as the favorite, the team’s opening series in the upper bracket went the distance to three games with Into The Breach proving to be a competitive opponent. Secret took the early lead thanks to a better draft in game one before Into The Breach responded with a refined performance, outdoing Secret on multiple fronts, to tie the series at one game apiece. However, Secret gave a clinic of class and experience in the deciding game to make sure it got to a winning start in the pivotal TI11 WEU qualifier.

Team Secret vs Into The Breach: Match recap and highlights

Recap

In game 1, Nisha stole the spotlight with a spectacular performance on Invoker. While he had fantastic heroes to play alongside like Faceless Void and Enigma, he also outplayed Supream^ in the midlane, made key movements, and was a part of 29 of the overall 35 kills. While Into The Breach won a handful of teamfights, Secret exploited its better teamfighting ability to perfection in the later stages to secure the first game win in 42 minutes.

In game 2, Secret went for the last pick Techies, a signature for Zayac. The hero has performed wonderfully for the team in recent months, but this game was not one of them, as it proved to be fairly ineffectual. Meanwhile, Xibbe performed admirably in the offlane on Razor, not only securing farm for himself but also shutting down Crystallis' Troll Warlord. Then wasn't much compatibility in Secret's draft, and after all three lanes went well for Into The Breach, the team played extremely cautiously from there on out, slowly building up a lead, and eventually securing the game in 52 minutes.

In game 3, Secret chose to play with Resolut1on's Marci again, but this time the team put Nisha on Pangolier, a hero that could effectively start teamfights. This approach worked brilliantly for the squad, as both Crystallis, who played Faceless Void, and Resolut1on, took advantage, finishing with 11-0-11 and 11-2-10 KDAs, respectively. Into The Breach lacked the capacity to withstand Secret's aggressiveness in the middle stages, and its final pick carry Dawnbreaker appeared to be quite weak. Secret won in 41 minutes thanks to a polished game from its end.

Highlights

Here are some highlights of the series.

Though challenged, Secret will be pleased with its opening series win. The two victories that it had in the series showed the great form the team has been in recently and why it is considered a favorite to win the entire tournament.

However, even though Into The Breach is in the lower bracket, it will still pose a real challenge to other teams that will be competing for the top three spots considering its performance in the past few months. During a recent livestream, even Sébastien "Ceb" Debs named Into The Breach as his dark horse team for the WEU qualifier.

Secret will next play against the winner of Alliance vs Entity in the upper bracket while Into The Breach faces Water Rune Enjoyers.


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As a passionate Dota 2 fan for eight years, Rakshak has indulged himself completely in its esports circuit for the past two years as a professional. In addition to covering major news developments, he takes a keen interest in understanding team strengths and player personalities.

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