Infamous has fallen to Team Secret following an incredibly spectacular run that broke all expectations. For a team projected to be eliminated in the group stage, eight-place is pretty good. Despite losing 2-0, the Peruvian team set a high bar for future South American Dota contenders.
Team Secret, also an underdog team, has arguably underperformed for most of the tournament. Team Secret failed to place in the upper bracket, and barely won in their game against Mineski in a nail-biting match. For now, the European team has managed to hold on once again.
In game one, Secret started strong with the popular Shadow Demon and Mirana duo, while Infamous used the slightly unconventional Phantom Lancer and Riki combo. Secret had banned Wraith King, Hector Antonio “K1” Rodriguez’s signature hero, forcing them to change up their plan. Still, K1 managed to rapidly farm and enable his team to provide good zoning play, while Secret applied pressure.
Michał “Nisha” Jankowski had a stand-out performance playing as Faceless Void, a hero he's played several times this tournament already. K1 on team Infamous occupied the top of the net worth chart, but ultimately his team couldn’t keep up. After a tense, hour-long game, Secret had won.
In game two, Secret appeared more composed as their carries displayed explosive momentum and eliminated Infamous in short order.
Team Secret captain Clement “Puppy” Ivanov racked up 12 kills as Witch Doctor in position five support, dominating the early game. Infamous was unable to recover, despite K1 performing as a constant highlight. Secret used everything they had to relentlessly eliminate Infamous. K1 attempted to reverse the tide as Secret was securing Roshan by charging in, but died an early death after mismanaging his abilities.
Infamous will still be taking home a roughly $840,000 prize, and showed talent beyond what was expected of them.
Secret will move on to face Vici Gaming, and have secured at least a top-six placing. The underdogs rival from TI5 and TI8, Evil Geniuses, have already faced elimination by Team Liquid, who might be poised to win it all. We’ll see in the coming days how much further they can go.