Team Secret claimed the title of WePlay! Pushka League champions today after a convincing grand finals performance against VP.Prodigy. Secret promptly swept Prodigy under the rug with a decisive 3-0 series win.
The first Dota 2 game was a slow and methodical one from Secret. It took a long time for Secret to muster the necessary resources to take down Prodigy’s base due to the CIS squad’s powerful teamfight ultimates from their cores like Clinkz, Death Prophet, and Mars.
Secret’s ability to split farm among their heroes proved to be the answer. While Prodigy’s positions one and two kept up at the top of the net worth charts, zai and YapzOr far outstripped their counterparts. Both Secret players handled unorthodox heroes in the offlane—Queen of Pain and support Sniper, respectively—and proved to be the difference-makers down the stretch.
Game two was a one-sided affair in Secret’s favor. Puppey was forced to pick up an uncommon carry in Chaos Knight after his first phase pick Weaver was heavily countered by Prodigy’s lineup.
Regardless, Secret’s rhythm was barely disrupted. The European titan had Prodigy on the ropes from the first minute—and it took less than 18 minutes for Prodigy to yield.
Secret carried their fine form into the third game. Prodigy managed to have a decent laning start, especially on Egor “epileptick1d” Grigorenko’s Void Spirit. But it barely made a dent in Secret’s master plan. This was Prodigy’s best start in the series, but it quickly evaporated in the face of Secret’s pushing lineup.
With Chen, Troll Warlord, and Nature’s Prophet, Secret continuously pressured the map with high tower damage and sustain. They eked out every advantage they could, which quickly ballooned into an insurmountable lead. Prodigy conceded in 27 minutes.
This marks Secret’s fifth straight win vs. Prodigy. Secret previously met Prodigy in the upper bracket finals, which was also a rather one-sided affair.
In a post-game interview, Secret’s coach Heen said previous scrimmages demarcated Prodigy as a good team. But even then, making their way to the finals was a surprise. MATUMBAMAN acknowledged them as a fine team, but being a new roster meant that their “shallow” strategies were easier to uncover the further they went into the competition.
Secret earned $70,000 for their efforts, while Prodigy walked away with $45,000. While Prodigy were thoroughly outmatched against one of the best Dota 2 teams in the world, they can hold their heads high for an immense tournament run that saw them beat out established powerhouses like Alliance and Team Liquid.
The WePlay! Pushka league comes to a close, but there’s still more professional Dota 2 for fans to enjoy. Champions Secret will be participating in the OGA Dota Pit Online, which kicks off tomorrow, as well as the $1.5 million Games Without Borders charity tournament that takes place from May 15 to 17.
