Neon Esports gave Team Secret all they could handle in the lower bracket of the ONE Esports Singapore Major, pushing the tournament favorite to a three-game series that was decided by just a few key plays.
Secret’s 2-1 win guarantees them a top four placement, while Neon bows out of the competition at joint-fifth, taking home $25,000 and 300 Dota Pro Circuit points.
Going into the series, Secret was heavily favored, but Neon immediately showed that they would not be pushovers by holding out against the EU team’s first push.
The EU team eventually took game one on the back of MATUMBAMAN’s Bristleback, but they never held a decisive lead over the depleted SEA squad until the final minutes of the nearly 44-minute contest.
On the back of a dragged out close gamet, the two teams switched things up and started throwing haymakers in game two, which saw Yang “Deth” Wu Heng’s Leshrac and Andrei “skem” Ong’s Gyrocopter lead Neon to a win.
Game three was a slow burn, with Secret holding at least a 1,000 gold advantage throughout the entire game, but Neon threaded the needle and kept things competitive for over an hour.
It came down to just a handful of plays in the late-game and the individual dominance of Secret’s players overwhelming Neon in a clutch scenario, allowing Puppey and his team to break through and close things out.
Neon had an incredible run at the organization’s first Major, coming in as the second seed from SEA, surviving the group stage, and eliminating regional rivals Fnatic and Chinese contender Vici Gaming. All while playing with two different stand-ins due to COVID-19 related roster issues.
Secret will play the winner of Invictus Gaming and Thunder Predator to decide which team makes it into the top three and grasp their last chance to reach the grand finals.
