Cover-Credits:
Taking down Team Secret to register its third series win in a row in the Western Europe (WEU) Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) 2021-22 Tour 3: Division 1, Tundra Esports continues to impress. Even though Secret put up the toughest resistance against Tundra so far in Tour 3, it couldn't hold on to prevail in the three-game series, losing 2-1. It was Tundra's quirky drafts that drove a lot of aggression, and while Secret was able to fend off this pressure in game two, it was overwhelmed in the first and third games despite its best efforts.
Team Secret vs Tundra Esports: Match Recap and Highlights
Recap
In game 1, Tundra went for a mid Winter Wyvern for Nine, whereas 33 selected an offlane Alchemist. As it turned out, 33 chose a carry build with a Radiance over purchasing and handing the Aghanim's Scepter to Nine. Though 33's Alchemist provided an inflated networth edge for Tundra, the game looked to be evenly matched around the 25-minute mark when Secret's fortunes began to deteriorate. No movements it made paid off, while Tundra managed to gain a firm grip on the game. Tundra gained momentum and got stronger on all three cores, winning the game in 45 minutes.
In game 2, Tundra used its trademark aggressiveness to overpower Secret in the early stages. Secret was already on the back foot after only 15 minutes, behind by 6k networth. But it performed an excellent job of stalling the game to the point where it could buy crucial items on its cored and battle. Puppey and his teammates had masterfully avoided each play made by Tundra, and at 40 minutes, found itself leading by 14k. Secret won the game in 61 minutes after purchasing four Linken Spheres, which ruined Tundra's initiation.
In game 3, Tundra went with a more traditional draft, focusing on meta heroes for its cores. Like many previous times, 33's Night Stalker proved to be the leader of the pack on offlane Night Stalker, frequently going about to hunt enemy kills. He was aided by a mobile Saksa Monkey King and the global menace of Zeus from Nine. Secret continued to lose bodies, but Crystallis' farmed Medusa kept the team in the team. However, the decision to skip BKB seemed to have harmed him, as he was simply overwhelmed by the opponents in a couple of important encounters, resulting in the end of Team Secret after 40 minutes.
Highlights
Here are some highlights of the series.
Despite the patch changing the meta a bit, Tundra doesn't seem to be affected at all because it realizes how to leverage it to continue taking down opponents. Their recent games have been characterized by the versatility of their players, which gives them an edge in the draft, as well as teamwork skills that have enabled them to move around early and get a considerable lead before the enemies even start to make moves.
On the other hand, it continues to be difficult for Secret to compete with teams that have been doing well lately. In recent months, the team has been able to secure rather easy victories against relatively weaker competition while falling short against in-form opponents such as Tundra. As well, the team will be trying to play at full strength by bringing back Yazied "YapzOr" Jarada to the lineup who has been out for the past two games, being replaced by Baqyt "Zayac" Emiljanov.
Secret will next play Entity while Tundra goes up against Team Liquid on 25th June.
