posted by Malystryx.GDS,
The event is the last LAN ahead of The International 6 which begins in just ten days, and features only 1 of the 6 direct invites for the annual extravaganza, Natus Vincere. The Ukranian organisation were invited ahead of the likes of Alliance or Fnatic, but so far at Starladder have proven their worth.
What have teams been playing so far?
(From 20 matches) Wings.. what have you started?!
Drow Ranger which became a trend at the Summit 5 last week has now become the most contested hero, and was either picked or banned in all 20 of the games played up until now.TNC Predator were known for using the hero many months ago, but Team Random* have helped increase the heroes' stock in the Nanyang Champions in Shanghai and The Summit 5 in Los Angeles.
The most played hero however - and rather surprisingly - is Shadow Demon, who appeared in 15 of the 20 matches. His opposite number, the most hated hero was Riki, another trend which carried on from the Nanyang Championships and The Summit 5, and the mischevious blue assassin was banned in 19 of 20 games.
The series is tied up 1-1. Let's go boys! A photo posted by Team Secret (@teamsecret) on Jul 22, 2016 at 8:39pm PDT
Match of the Day: Secret and Navi to clash tonight
The match of the day is easily Team Secret versus Navi, with the winner going on to progress to the Grand Finals. Navi have been experimenting with Sand King as well as Huskar, and both could see another cameo tonight. Nature's Prophet also remains a popular choice for Navi's Viktor 'GeneRaL' Nigrini, despite the hero only making 1 appearance at The Summit 5 last week.
Meanwhile, Team Secret have been prioritising Shadow Demon, and it is in fact the only hero Johan 'pieliedie' Åström has played all tournament. Ursa is another hero Secret have turned to, and both Artour 'Arteezy' Babaev and Jacky 'EternaLEnVy' Mao have played him at the Starladder LAN. Navi versus Secret should be a great match to watch but for us Euros you will need to stay up to catch it (01:00 am CEST start)
Place your bets
Team Secret managed to overcome Planet Odd* in the semi-finals to set-up the match with Navi, an encounter with added venom due to the manner in which DC players w33haa and Misery were kicked from Secret during the last roster reshuffle.
Digital Chaos may have been defeated but they are least certain of top 6, while compLexity Gaming who already lost out to DC in the NA qualifiers for TI6, were the first to be eliminated alongside CDEC.Youth* in the playoffs. Don't miss out tonight's games, as the final stages of Starladder could set the tone for the upcoming groupstages which begin at the end of next week.
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