DotaCinema XMG Captains’ Draft Invitational 2.0: Secret Wins First Title
eSports Inquirer is covering the Grand Finals of the DotaCinema XMG Captains’ Draft Invitational 2.0. Without further ado, let’s get into the game!
Game One: Stuns, Skillshots and Meepow!
In game one, Virtus.Pro (VP) got themselves a Vengeful Spirit for Egor “JotM” Surkov, Witch Doctor for Vladimir “yol” Basov, Ember for Stanislav “BzzIsPerfect” Glushan, Meepo for Sergey “God” Alexandrovich Bragin and a Bounty Hunter for Vadim “Sedoy” Musorinto. The Russians got themselves a control lineup as well as the extra map vision and Bounty money from the Bounty Hunter.
Team Secret (TS) picked Broodmother for Johan “BigDaddy” Sundstein, Doom for Kuro Salehi “KuroKy” Takhasomi, Windrunner for Gutsav “s4” Magnusson, Phoenix for Clement “Puppey” Ivanov and Wraith King for Rasmus “MiSeRy” Filipsen to complete a lockdown-focused lineup.
By 20 minutes, s4’s Windrunner has gained a Godlike Streak as well as the Aegis of the Immortal even as Meepo got seemingly endless pickoffs on the top lane. Despite that, the Russian side kept their calm and fought hard. After all, the net worth and the kills were more or less even with no significant advantage for either side.
By the 27th minute, a pickoff on s4’s Windrunner as well as on KuroKy’s Doom has allowed them to give the Russians the driver’s seat in the game. By the 30th minute, VP has won another battle after a sloppy fight by Team Secret; they immediately got the Aegis of Immortal afterwards for Meepo. Two minutes later, Meepo sits at the top of the money charts followed by Windrunner and Doom.
Clashes continued to go on even as carries on both sides are getting items, and both teams try to establish full control of the map through getting pickoffs. Forty-one minutes in, VP makes their first attempt for the barracks. However, a very good defense by Team Secret killed off four of VP’s heroes and an Aegis despite spending two buybacks on key heroes. Two minutes later, a clash happens near the river. A few minutes later, they barrel down mid and they get both the middle and bottom set of barracks. The Russians then go on to take the top lane for the mega creeps, however, the European mix does a successful defense this time. Still, Secret loses a lot of heroes and the top ranged barracks fall moments later.
The tempo goes down a bit and both teams went back to the “pickoff game”. Kills were traded left and right on whatever hero in the map that is just slightly out of position. At the 52-minute mark, the Russians get another Roshan again, placing the Aegis on Ember Spirit and the Cheese on the Bounty Hunter. A bad teamfight a few minutes later gives Secret a chance to go down mid. However, they accomplish nothing and then fights happen all across the Radiant base. By the 56th minute, VP gets mega creeps and Secret can do nothing but go for a bold play.
It all fails with Secret’s heroes falling left and right like a chain of dominoes. And Misery taps out, letting the Russians take game one after such a nailbiter.
Game Two: Blitzkrieg and Blood: The Secret to Win
For game two, Virtus.Pro picks Crystal Maiden for JotM, Vengeful Spirit for yol, Spectre for BzzIsPerfect, Queen of Pain for God and Venomancer for Sedoy.
Team Secret grabs Slardar for BigDaddy, Drow Ranger for KuroKy, Razor for s4, Leshrac for Puppey and Juggernaut for MiSeRy for a triple core lineup that can stand a chance of fighting the 4-1 strategy of the Russian side.
First blood happens when Juggernaut gets Spectre bottom and a few moments later, gets another kill below the tier 2 tower through picking off Crystal Maiden. In the meantime, heroes drop elsewhere in the map and by the 4th minute, Secret has a 4-1 advantage in kills. By the 6th minute, the European mix gets their first tower, bringing down Crystal Maiden afterwards. Just a few minutes later, Virtus.Pro makes a blast with a very good Queen of Pain ultimate, getting an ultra kill for the Queen of Pain. Secret then strikes back with three kills. In other words, the early game is just replete with kills and skirmishes, similar to the first game.
Just before the 10th minute mark, Drow and Slardar get Roshan, putting the Aegis on the Ranger. VP responds with a smoke gank, getting Puppey, and Secret gets the bottom tower in return. Moments later, another clash happens and Drow loses the Aegis and dies! The scoreboard is at 2-3 with Drow, Razor and Queen of Pain leading the gold exchange. Within 13 minutes, 24 kills are on the board: Fights and kills are just happening everywhere as neither VP nor TS wants to slow the pace!
After loads of fights and frags, Secret gets the tier 3 bottom tower by the 18th minute, which is basically the beginning of the mid-game. By this time, Drow Ranger has a Manta Style, while Juggernaut has gotten an Aghanim’s Scepter as well as a Black King Bar and a Hyperstone on Razor. On the Russian side, only Queen of Pain has an Orchid; the rest of the team have no significant items to boot.
The European mix is just upping the pressure. By the 23rd minute, they got two lanes of barracks plus a top and even though VP stands their ground, every defense that they make is costly. A few moments later, Rosh is killed and Drow gets the Aegis. At the 26-minute mark, it is mega creeps and with the Russian defense falling, JotM decides that it is enough.
Game 3: Oracleeeeeeeee for the BigDaddy! Wait, Rampage?
With the match now tied at 1-1, Virtus.Pro picks Skywrath Mage for JotM, Visage for yol, Gyrocopter for BzzIsPerfect, Beastmaster for God and Centaur Warrunner for Sedoy, while Team Secret grabs Oracle for BigDaddy, Juggernaut for KuroKy, Viper for s4, Sand King for Puppey and Magnus for MiSeRy. It is combination gaming for the Russian side, while it is all about a stable lineup for the European mix.
Gyrocopter takes the first blood at top lane with the help of Skywrath Mage, and although the match is not as bloody as the previous two matches, VP gets a 3-1 kill advantage by 6th minute mark.
It is interesting to notice that a lot of the clashes in the early game happened at the extremely stacked Radiant jungle where the Sand King is farming: VP responded by jacking it many times and they get four kills out of the tactic. By the 10th minute, the kill charts stand at 8-1 in favor of the Russian side.
At the 14-minute mark, a botched initiation by Magnus gave Virtus.Pro six kills (and forced a buyback on Magnus which turned into a dieback) for the cost of two consolation frags. The Russians get Roshan afterwards and then all of a sudden, they go into sixth gear as they rack bodies everywhere on the map. By this time, they have also accumulated a 10,000-gold lead and it is only a matter of time before the Gyrocopter gets out of control.
Both teams went into rather passive phases until the 26th minute when VP got Roshan. They then went top lane to send the Sand King six feet down the edge. At this moment, there is a Scepter on both Beastmaster and Visage as well as on Juggernaut and Viper. It seems that this is an ability-heavy game as both sides dish out absurd amounts of damage during teamfights. By the 33rd minute, the kill graph is at 22-6 with VP on the lead. A few seconds later, TS gets two kills on Visage and Gyrocopter. As the game goes into the late phase, both sides are playing rather passively.
By the 37th minute, the Russians get Roshan once again and they attempt to scale the high ground a minute later. Afterwards, they barely win a teamfight going through Cheese and Aegis and all the ultimates that they can get their hands on. Although they force two buybacks from the European mix, they hold their ground and stand strong.
Then at the 49th minute, VP gets three, gets Roshan for the umpteenth time and after an endless clash that resulted in a Rampage for the Gyrocopter, Secret says GG.
Game 4: Kiting Gaming versus Macho Gaming
For this round, Virtus.Pro picks Ancient Apparition for JotM, Sand King for yol, Spectre for BzzIsPerfect, Clockwork for God and Jakiro for Sedoy, while Team Secret grabs Tusk for BigDaddy, Sniper for KuroKy, Zeus for s4, Leshrac for Puppeyand Nyx Assassin for MiSeRy. It is man-to-man warfare plus global attacks for the Russian side, while it is all about flash kills and range for the European mix.
First blood goes mid when the supports of Secret join Zeus in a gank on Clockwork, followed by a kill on Jakiro up top a few moments later. Within five minutes, Secret gets five kills on the board while the Russians have nothing but eggs just yet.
By the 10th minute, the killboard is at 10-3 with Secret leading the way. One minute later, the bottom tower is denied by the Russians and just another moment later, they take a 3-1 skirmish all over the map, bringing the scoreboard to 12-6.
Then comes mid game and Sniper, Zeus and Clockwork are on the top of the net worth charts with a 30-23 kill advantage for Secret. Zeus gets a Bloodstone while Clockwork gets a BKB. Then the Roshan fight comes and VP wins it with a blast after a very, very prolonged fight. The score becomes 34-29 after the fight and Leshrac dies twice with the Aegis.
By the beginning of the late game at the 30th minute, Sniper has Shadow Blade, BKB and Maelstrom, while Clockwork gets an Aghanim’s Scepter, giving him tons of initiation power. Then one minute later, the Russians win another long fight at the Radiant jungle, with the Clockwork Specter playing a large part in winning that fight.
First set of barracks go down at minute 40 after Secret wins a huge teamfight in the bottom lane. The GG just goes down for Virtus.Pro afterwards.
Game 5: RNG Assassin? Or Morph?
As the game boils down to a final leg, Virtus.Pro gets Lich for JotM, Bane for yol, Venomancer for BzzIsPerfect, Morphling for God and Timbersaw for Sedoy, while Team Secret grabs Earthshaker for BigDaddy, Necrophos for KuroKy, Phantom Assassin for s4, Abaddon for Puppey and Batrider for MiSeRy.
Very good play overall ensured that Secret wins the game and with it, the title. This is their first championship title in Dota 2 history!
Very entertaining! Well played by both sides!
Hope you enjoyed!
Featured image: Liquipedia
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