posted by Malystryx.GDS,
The Captains Draft Season 4 Minor came to close after a Grand Final series between Vici Gaming and Team Secret. Heading into the Grand Finals the Chinese team looked the more formidable and they were on form for the final match of the tournament against Team Secret, the #1 team on the DPC Leaderboards.
Beasts @AceDota @YapzOrdota
ā Linus Blomdin (@LimmpDota) 7 January 2018
Sick finals performance from Secret to pull through the win. Wp!
ā David Parker | Godz (@BTSGoDz) 7 January 2018
Team Secret staged not one major comeback but TWO in the Grand Finals
Secret's opening comeback win was particularly impressive considering they had been slaughtered for the majority of game 1, down 25-3 on kills by 25 minutes with MidOne suffering six deaths. Come late game Marcus 'Ace' Hoelgaard's Lifestealer dominated game 1 but Secret were left without a reliable counter to Zhang 'Eurus' Chengjun's Storm Spirit in game 2.
Secret's first 25 minutes in game 1 - they went on to win the game
Zeng 'Ori' Jiaoyang was relentless in game 2 as Storm Spirit, and his Templar Assassin in game 3 made quick work of Secret. Ace's Slark had a rough time in Game 3 against a VG tri-lane and Secret succumbed up to VG in just 23 minutes, with analyst Purge putting VG's win down to the efforts of Yang 'Eleven' Wei Ren.
Game 3 was by far the most one-sided of the series and Secret were truly against the ropes come game 4. Secret had struggled in the laning phases, in particular in game 3, and the analyst panel were keen to see whether they could change that in game 4.
Game 4 turned out to be the best of the bunch.
Paparazi Morphling looked set to secure VG a 3-1 win .... but THEN
The random selection of heroes in Game 4 was in Secret's favour, and they were able to snatch up trademark Rubick for Yazied 'YapzOr' Jaradat and Ember Spirit for Yeik Nai 'MidOne' Zheng, two heroes both players are extremely familiar with.
However, Vici Gaming's last pick Morphling tilted the draft in VG's favour according to SyndereN and Jack, with Secret's only stuns coming from Earthshaker and Rubick. Changes to Morphling mean he can not morph stats while stunned, but with Secret lacking stuns the recent nerf was not so much of a factor.
Paparazi's Morphling racked up a big lead on the CS charts right from the start and come mid-game focused on taking out Puppey's Earthshaker first in fights, his biggest threat. Although Ace was keeping up on farm by 25 minutes, his team-mates were not doing so well, with 3 of the VG cores ahead of MidOne on the networth chart.
However, at 40 minutes MidOne started to "warm up" according to SyndereN after his Mjollnir purchase, and he was godlike after jumping behind the enemy ranks to pick off VG's supports. He did fall without buyback but the big slip came when Paparazi was caught out near his own base, and Secret went straight for the kill.
The turn - When Secret somehow forced game 5
Secret last pick Meepo for final game of Grand Finals
Team Secret went into another gear for the final game of the series, and unlike VG in games 1 and 4, they did not drop the stick, but instead finished off the wonderful series in style. The last pick Meepo for Marcus 'Ace' Hoelgaard, the perfect start for FATA's Axe, the double slow with Puppey's Ancient Apparition and Yapzor's Jakiro, it all clicked perfectly for Team Secret in game 5. It was for the most part a stomp, with Team Secret ending the game after 31 minutes with a 30k networth advantage.
Secret's second Pro Circuit event win in a row
Team Secret finished 1st at the DreamLeague Major in December, and victory today at Captains Draft makes it 2 wins in a row for the European organisation. With Secret withdrawing from Galaxy Battles II after it lost Major status, their next event will not be until mid February when they participate in the ESL One Katowice Major.
I would say we are pretty lucky in this tournament xD and some skills of course anyway great tournament and super tough grand final and Iām happy hehe :)
ā MidOne (@midonedota2) 7 January 2018
Final standings
1. Team Secret - $108,000 (150 DPC Points)
2. Vici Gaming - $69,000 (90 DPC Points)
3-4. OG - $37,500 (30 DPC Points)
3-4. Mineski - $37,500 (30 DPC Points)
5-8. paiN Gaming* - $12,000
5-8. Evil Geniuses - $12,000
5-8. Team Empire - $12,000
5-8. compLexity Gaming - $12,000
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