posted by Malystryx.GDS,
It is not the first game Team Secret have lost games, with the all-star team dropping games to Fnatic, LGD Gaming and MVP.Phoenix in the groupstage, but they have yet to lose a series. At the start of the game Sebastien "7ckngMad" Debs on the analyst desk said "I feel Team Secret need a miracle because they've been really outdrafted".
However, it was Secret who were in control throughout the early game. Arteezy's choice to go magic stick over bottle against Cty's Storm Spirit mid paid off, and the Canadian outplayed Cty early on, forcing Cty to roam.
EHOME's LanM was on Bounty Hunter, and despite a courier snipe at 5 mins in, struggled to help RotK's Phoenix in his solo lane versus S4's Viper. Zai was always nearby to help out his team-mate, with two failed ganks on S4's viper costing EHOME 3 deaths.
"Bounty Hunter is the finisher and the opener," said commentator Blitz during the cast. "You need pure team fight heroes to go along with him and thats what the wyvern and phoenix provide for you." The team fight potential was there but the game went terribly for Cty, who was pushed out of lane and heavily underfarmed.
At 14 minutes in was EHOME's first heavy loss, losing four of their heroes just to try to take out Arteezy's extremely deadly Shadow Fiend. At this point it seemed like the Phoenix pick was a poor one, with EHOME unable to pull of their combo with Winter Wyvern's curse, and Cty's terrible position in the game left him unable to make an impact. EHOME's position looked hopeless.
Cty made an astonishing comeback after an awful start to the first gameThat was until Cty start to avoid fights and farm up, staying out of danger for 5 minute. His investment aid off and a smoke in their own jungle was the major turning point for ehome, catching Secret coming up the steps to take out two heroes and then finally chase down Arteezy to get the 3rd, an incredible 2500 gold swing for EHOME.
Next on the list was Roshan, and although Secret did try to contest with a lovely force staff by Kuroky's Bane onto the cliff to take out Zyf's straggling Gyrocopter, but they could not stop EHOME from taking the aegis.
EHOME ran straight into a huge fight middle, with Winter Wyvern's cold embrace buying time for Phoenix's ultimate and Cty's Storm Spirit to make the turn around for EHOMe put them in the driving seat. Secret lose 4 heroes and lose 3 towers; mid tier 1, mid tier 2 (denied) and then bottom tier 2.
EHOME who had been on the ropes were now totally in control, with the crowd cheering as they witnessed Cty channeling his inner-SumaiL to literally play with his food. Cty had become a monster. At 38 mins Cty flew across the jungle to take out 1 of Secret, and then ball straight to the corpse to pick up a 2nd gem, right from the feet of 2 secret heroes before balling back. The crowd went wild.
Cty was just playing out of his mind, and Secret were being held to randsom by a team who only made it to the main event via the qualifiers. The swing by the 40 minute mark was more than 20,000 gold, and aside from Zyf's six-slotted gyrocopter, RotK's play on Phoenix was crucial near the end of the game.
"EHOME, EHOME, EHOME" chants ran out from around the stadium, much like Secret's name was at the CommerzBank Arena last month at ESL ONE Frankfurt. However, it was not about the battle but about the war, and Secret had set themselves the task of winning the next two games. Whether they made the comeback or not, EHOME had shown the world that Team Secret are only mortal.
Secret following first game defeat to EHOME[i]joinDOTA's TI5 coverage is brought to you by ASUS, our official partner for the event.
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