Team Secret Is Simply Too Strong

Team Secret has just been crowned champion of OMEGA League: Europe Immortal Division and the competition wasn’t even close. Puppey and his squad demolished all opposition in one of the most dominant performances we’ve seen this year. In a few words, I’ll try to summarize how they did it.

Group Stage

Nisha and his crew had a relatively easy Group Stage, being seeded in Group B together with 5 opponents that were clearly out of shape or vulnerable due to some recent roster change. These teams were OG, Vikin.gg, Team Liquid, FlyToMoon, and Ninjas in Pyjamas. With one exception, Secret won all matches without losing a single game. The exception was Team Liquid, which then went on to finish 4^th in the group with 2 wins and 3 losses.

Playoffs Stage

In the Playoffs Stage of OMEGA League: Europe Immortal Division, Team Secret started with a victory against an old rival: Evil Geniuses. Unfortunately for EG, their roster handicap (Abed missing and being replaced by a modest stand-in) proved to be fatal. They not only lost against Secret, but also against Alliance, in the Lower Bracket Round 2.

Following this win, Team Secret met OG in the Upper Bracket Final. And this was the second time in the tournament when they lost a game. And not just any game. It was game 1. OG took them completely off-guard with a with an Invoker + Phantom Assassin duo. Both heroes proved to be well-picked and the players themselves did a spectacular job. But it didn’t last. By game 2, Secret had already adapted and their superior tactics and strategy led them to victory, even though the game lasted for almost 45 minutes. Game 3 was brief, thanks to a well-picked Chen that allowed Puppey to do what he does best: get an early lead and snowball out of control.

This victory against OG guaranteed Secret a place in the Grand Final. For a while, everyone had high hopes for a good old Secret versus Nigma dispute, but OG proved itself once again and won the Lower Bracket Final with a score of 2 – 0.

As the Grand Final started, the analysts were trying to hype the match but it was obvious from their voices that nobody game OG the slightest chances. And indeed, Secret won with a score of 3 – 0. Only the first game was difficult. Everything that followed was just a formality.

Team Secret’s Monumental Achievement

In a total of 7 Bo3 matches and a Bo5 Grand Final, they lost a total of 2 games. In effect, they were just 2 games away from a flawless tournament victory. And keep in mind, this event brought together the best teams in 3 regions, because Evil Geniuses, arguably the strongest team in North America, was also present. So we had CIS, Europe, and North America combined into a single competition. A total of 12 teams took part in it and Secret was by far the strongest.

This was Secret’s 7th important trophy in 2020.

 

Photo credit: Valve