Evil Geniuses Wins StarLadder X in Ukraine!
After a grueling best-of-five series and a one game disadvantage, American team Evil Geniuses (EG) bested Team Secret 3-2 at the finals of the StarLadder Season X Local Area Network (LAN) Grand Finals in Kiev, Ukraine.
Throughout the series, key engagements around the Roshan pit proved pivotal for both teams. Down a game at the beginning of the match thanks to Team Secret’s advantage, the team composed of Peter “ppd” Dager, Clinton “Fear” Loomis, Artour “Arteezy” Babaev, Ludwig “zai” Wåhlberg and Saahil “UNiVeRsE” Arora fought back to claim first place and the $105,000 cash prize that comes with it.
In game one, Team Secret took an early lead in the laning stage and outpaced EG. A quick 13-minute Roshan from Arteezy’s Lycanthrope however placed EG back in the driver’s seat. The Americans were able to convert their tactical lead into even more gold and experience advantage by securing three more Roshan kills by the 35th minute.
In the late game, EG took down a lane of barracks from Team Secret but a quick turnaround took down the heavily farmed Arteezy, allowing Team Secret to siege the American base. In the end, the team fight abilities on EG proved too much as a double Ravage decimated Team Secret’s heroes, allowing EG to barrel down the lanes to claim another lane of structures. Team Secret concedes the game to EG (1-1).
In game two, Team Secret drafted a more balanced line-up with plenty of team fight skills, taking an early lead against EG through a series of quick rotations from Brewmaster and Enigma. The Americans fought back, ambushing Tal “Simbaaa” Aizik on the bottom lane, only to be met by a quick buyback into a double-kill, extending Team Secret’s lead considerably.
By 20 minutes, Team Secret forced a fight at the Roshan pit, using their team fight spells to defeat EG and secure Roshan. Aegis in tow, the multinational team took the rest of EG’s outer towers and began the siege on the American base’s high ground. After a five-man wipe inside their own base, EG was forced to tap out in game two (2-1).
Game three once again featured Arteezy’s Lycanthrope on the Dire side of the map, where the Roshan pit is more accessible. After another 13-minute Roshan for EG, Arteezy came out of the pit roaring and took down three enemy heroes for a triple kill, sitting atop the map with a net-worth of 5,000 gold. After some creative engagements led by zai and Fear, Arteezy managed to farm completely out of reach for the enemy team, scoring a win and tying the series by the 37th minute mark (2-2).
The Tidehunter pick for EG proved pivotal in winning engagements for the American team.
In the deciding match, Team Secret once again allowed Lycanthrope to be drafted by the American team, but not before securing Earthshaker and Medusa to counter the wolf threat. Although EG took the early lead in kills, Team Secret kept pace with Radiant team thanks to timely fissures and the Brewmaster’s ultimate.
Cheers from the crowd as Team Secret drafts a Medusa, Earthshaker and Keeper of the Light line-up to stall Arteezy’s Lycanthrope.
By the mid-game, Team Secret managed to box out EG’s access of the Roshan pit, stealing an Aegis and Cheese and giving it to Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi’s Medusa. The Americans tried to retake the momentum of the match and thanks to a double Ravage ultimate from UNiVeRsE, took down an Aegis from Team Secret.
With the Americans in retreat after expending so many ultimates to take down the Aegis, Team Secret marched down the mid lane, hoping to take the base while EG’s resources were taxed from the fight. Unfortunately for Secret, EG managed to take the fight at the mouth of the Radiant-base, even securing kills on the Medusa and Doom and wasting their buybacks. With only two heroes left to defend the Dire base, the Lycanthrope charged through and took the top lane barracks and eventually the Dire Ancient. EG wins 3-2 versus Team Secret.
Universe’s timely Ravage catches the retreating Team Secret to seal the match for EG.
Final Standings:
1st Place: Evil Geniuses ($105,000)
2nd Place: Team Secret ($46,000)
3rd Place: Cloud 9 ($32,000)
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