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Team Secret Is in Deep Trouble

Team Secret started Season 2 of Western Europe’s DPC 2021 as the number 1 favorite to win the tournament... Radu M. | 9. May 2021

Team Secret started Season 2 of Western Europe’s DPC 2021 as the number 1 favorite to win the tournament and qualify for the Playoffs of the upcoming Major. They had already won Season 1 with 7 consecutive victories and had confirmed their excellent form at the Singapore Major, where they finished 4th. So what went wrong?

Dota 2 Patch 7.29

It seems that the latest Dota 2 patch has nerfed Secret’s favorite strategies. We’ve seen this scenario before. The most famous example is Alliance. After winning The International 3, Loda and his squad were no longer able to abuse their rat tactics and lost the competitive advantage they had had. The impact on their results was disastrous.

Something similar is happening right now to Secret. Puppey’s squad currently has a record of 2 wins and 3 losses in Season 2 of DPC 2021, and is dangerously close not only to missing the 2nd Major, but to relegating. Both of these outcomes would be a complete disaster for a competitor of their level. And I’m sure that Puppey’s training around the clock to avoid these scenarios.

However, as hard as Secret might try, when a patch is perfectly built to crush you, it’s hard to escape IceFrog’s wrath. I’m not sure if he carefully studied Secret and just targeted their strategies but it’s obvious that in just 2 months, the team’s strength went from 10/10 to less than 5/10, at least relative to other strong competitors from Europe.

The Tough Road Ahead

The good news for Secret is that they’ve already qualified for The International 10. Well, not yet, but given the fact that they won Season 1 and finished 4th at the Major, it’s extremely unlikely that they’ll drop out of the top 12 if they miss the 2nd Major.

Puppey’s next two matches are critical for the future of his team. The first will be against Liquid and the second one against Brame. I seriously doubt Puppey’s ability to beat Liquid with his current team on this patch. But he should prove capable of beating Brame. It won’t be enough to secure a ticket for the Major, but at least he won’t relegate to the Lower Division.

 

Photo credit: Valve