Team Secret pushed through (monkey) Business, 2:1, and Evil Geniuses, 3:1, to claim their first championship title of the season, at the MLG World Finals.
Team Secret advanced into the MLG World Finals Grand Finals, after knocking out (monkey) Business, 2:1, in the semifinals.
The second set of semifinals pitted Evil Geniuses and CDEC against each other, in an exciting TI5 finals rematch. Evil Geniuses established themselves in front of CDEC once again, with a 2:1 score.
Team Secret came out on top of the best-of-five Grand Finals series, on the back of spectacular plays and proper team coordination.
Evil Geniuses put up a commendable fight, but ended up dropping the title, 1:3.
MLG World Finals standings
MLG World Finals standings, semifinals
(monkey)Business 1:2 Team Secret
- Starting out the first game of the series with a Meepo pick for Team Secret, (monkey)Business answered with a last pick Sven and created a five melee lineup. Team Secret executed their lineup perfectly, making sure that Anti-Mage had a slow start and it became increasingly hard for (monkey)Business to handle Secret’s overfarmed Meepo and Ember Spirit. The game was completely one-sided and over in 36 minutes, with a 24K gold advantage for Team Secret and a score of 26:12.
- The second game was a completely opposite experience for both teams. David “MoonMeander” Tan played an exceptional Slardar, (monkey)Business executed their strategy perfectly and managed to tie up the series and push a third game.
- (monkey)Business banned w33haa’s signature hero, Meepo, and went for Necrophos, Dark Seer, Queen of Pain, and a Tusk-Slardar support combo. Secret picked a Shadow Fiend for Omar “w33” Aliwi, a Wraith King for EternalEnvy, Clockwerk for Misery, Lich for Pieliedie, and Dazzle for Puppey. (monkey)Business tried to slow the Shadow Fiend down, but all their initiations were perfectly countered by Secret – who came out on top in all the pivotal fights. Omar “w33” Aliwi ended the game at the top of the networh charts, with a 9/2/14 record. The game was over in under 50 minutes, with a 28:12 score.
CDEC 1:2 Evil Geniuses
- In the first game of the series, CDEC went for a so-called “6.84” lineup, reminiscent of their TI5 drafts: Gyrocopter, Ember Spirit, Clockwerk, Io, and Rubick. Evil Geniuses responded with a Queen of Pain for SumaiL, a Shadow Fiend for Arteezy, a Night Stalker for Universe, Fear on Undying, and PPD on Vengeful Spirit. The fate of the game was crystal clear from the drafting and laning phases. The game was heavily one-sided in EG’s favor and it was over in under 24 minutes, with a crushing 25:3 score. SumaiL played a beautifully executed Queen of Pain, and ended the game with a 16/2/5 record.
- The second game of the series was a stark contrast to the previous one. It was CDEC’s turn to dominate, with a beautifully executed Ember Spirit, Lina, Spirit Breaker, Winter Wyvern, and Clockwerk lineup. CDEC managed to shut down Arteezy’s Anti-Mage and SumaiL’s Magnus. With Aggresif’s Ember Spirit (11/0/15) and Shiki’s Lina (18/1/15) topping the networth charts, CDEC broke high ground at minute 40 and tied up the series, with a final score of 45:12.
- For the deciding game, EG went with a surprise-Slardar pick for SumaiL, a Templar Assassin for Arteezy, Clockwerk for Universe, Winter Wyvern for Fear, and Ancient Apparition for PPD. CDEC tried to put pressure with Doom, Broodmother, Lion, and a Night Staker-Lich combo. EG’s rotations and coordination were out of CDEC’s control, and the North-Americans surged through in 44 minutes, with a final score of 31:16.
MLG World Finals standings, Grand Finals
Team Secret 3:1 Evil Geniuses
- Team Secret started out the MLG World Finals Grand Finals with w33haa’s dangerous Meepo, paired with Doom, Nyx Assassin, Dazzle, and Bane. EG were confident enough not to ban Meepo, and responded with an Alchemist for Arteezy, Windranger for SumaiL, Dark Seer, Ogre Magi, and Witch Doctor. Omar “w33” Aliwi’s Meepo secured a comfortable early advantage, after a surprising pick-off on Alchemist, in the very first minutes of the game. Secret managed to create spaces for their heroes, while shutting down Arteezy’s Alchemist. By 30 minutes into the game, Meepo had become unstoppable. EG were team wiped and called GG shortly afterwards. Secret secured the first win, with a total score of 22:6.
- EG didn’t leave anything to chance in the second game of the series, and started out by banning Meepo. They went for a Ember Spirit, Templar Assassin, Tusk, Undying, Abaddon lineup. Secret responded with Naga Syren, Venomancer, Night Stalker, Dazzle, and Bane. Well-suited for the early game, Secret’s lineup fell through easily, as EG took full control of the game from the very beginning. EG were picking up kills all across the map and managed to tie up the series with little difficulty, in only 30 minutes, with a crushing score of 29:3.
- In the third game of the Grand Finals series, Secret went for Slardar, Doom, Windranger, Bounty Hunter, and Puppey’s celebrated Chen. Left without any of his usual choices, Universe was given Night Stalker, and EG completed their lineup with a Templar Assassin for Arteezy, an Ember Spirit for SumaiL, Undying for Fear, and Lich for PPD. Puppey’s Chen made the difference for Team Secret early on, until SumaiL’s Ember Spirit managed to mollify it a tad. It was a temperate game, as both teams were trying to get as many objectives as possible, without engaging in aggressive team fights. Team Secret came out on top of a pivotal team fight at minute 37, when they managed to team wipe EG. The game was called a couple of minutes later. Secret claimed the victory, with a total score of 30:17.
- In the fourth game of the series, Secret went for Slardar once again, paired with a Phantom Assassin for EternalEnvy, a Lina for w33haa, Undying for Pieliedie, and Disruptor for Puppey. On EG’s side, Universe got away with a Dark Seer pick. EG completed their lineup with Ember Spirit, Ancient Apparition, Beastmaster, and Visage. Team Secret drew first blood on Arteezy’s Ember Spirit. EG followed back with a kill, but they were off for a slow start. Universe’s Dark Seer balanced the situation and EG were back in the game, with a slight advantage, by minute 15. Close to minute 18, Secret came out on top of one of EG’s initiations and managed to team wipe the North-Americans. The fight left Secret with a comfortable lead. Half an hour of back and forth trade-offs later, Team Secret managed to take down EG’s Ember Spirit and Beastmaster, and snowball until the end. The game was over in close to an hour, with a total score of 56:26.
Team Secret claimed the MLG World Finals championship title, after besting TI5 champions, Evil Geniuses, 3:1.
MLG World Finals prize distribution
MLG World Finals
The MLG World Finals, Major League Gaming’s 100th event, took place between October 16-18, at the Ernest N. Morial Center in New Orleans, LA. Six invited teams – MVP.Phoenix, Team Secret, CDEC Gaming, LGD Gaming, Evil Geniuses, Virtus.Pro – and two qualified ones from the European and North-American regions – (monkey)Business and Cloud 9 – competed for a +$250,000 prize pool and the championship title.
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