Team Secret defeated Evil Geniuses (EG), 3-2 at the Grand Final series of DreamLeague Season 13: The Leipzig Major. The intense five-game series saw both teams taking turns winning one-sided games.

With their victory, Secret take home the grand prize of US$300,000 and 4,850 Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) points, enough to guarantee that the top-ranked team of the previous DPC season will get a direct invite to The International 2020 (TI10) in Stockholm, Sweden in August.

Secret’s victory at Leipzig is their third DPC Major championship as an organization.

Meanwhile, EG’s new roster improved on their 4th place finish at the MDL Chengdu Major as Leipzig’s runner-up. A Major championship continues to elude the top North American team, but their performance here still nets them US$160,000 and 3,000 DPC points — enough to guarantee a direct invite to TI10.

Here’s a breakdown of the thrilling Grand Finals series:

Game one

Secret opened the series with Lasse “Matumbaman” Urpalainen on Slark, Michal “Nisha” Jankowski on Outworld Devourer, Ludwig “zai” Wåhlberg on Timbersaw, Yazied “YapzOr” Jaradat on Treant Protector, and Clement “Puppey” Ivanov on Io.

Meanwhile, EG ran with Razor for Artour “Arteezy” Babaev, Templar Assassin for Abed Azel “Abed” Yusop, Doom for Roman “RAMZES666” Kushnarev, Nyx Assassin for Andreas “Cr1t-” Nielsen, and Winter Wyvern for Tal “Fly” Aizik.

The laning phase ended with both teams on relatively even footing, but EG took control of the game when they bagged three big kills in a fight by the top lane. The skirmish also secured the Aegis of the Immortal for Abed.

Ramzes’ Doom was key in blocking Secret’s attempts to get something going. He repeatedly shut down Nisha’s Outworld Devourer with his Doom ultimate in the key midgame fights, giving Abed and Arteezy free rein to run a train through their opponents.

EG went on to methodically pick apart the Secret lineup, eventually forcing them to call GG after 45 minutes.

Game two

Secret looked to bounce back in game two by pulling out Meepo as a last pick for Nisha, with Matumbaman on Monkey King, zai on Centaur Warrunner, YapzOr on Skywrath Mage, and Puppey on Winter Wyvern.

Meanwhile, EG looked to survive the midgame storm coming from the Meepo and take it late, with Arteezy on Faceless Void, Abed on Outworld Devourer, Ramzes on an offlane Enchantress, Cr1t on Tiny, and Fly on Oracle.

Secret came out with a significant lead, building on strong starts by Nisha and YapzOr, though both teams were content to farm and engage in occasional skirmishes until the 30-minute mark.

Nisha then busted the game wide open for Secret when he got a Rampage in a huge, drawn-out clash that started by the southwestern Outpost and ended in EG’s base.

Matumbaman then followed up with a Triple Kill of his own not long after, as Secret exerted full control of the game.

EG could do little against a Secret lineup that enjoyed a huge gold advantage, as Nisha had a net worth of over 32,000 40 minutes in. For comparison, the next richest hero was Matumbaman with almost 20,000, while Arteezy only had about 17,000 net worth.

Secret closed out the game in 45 minutes, tying up the series at one apiece.

Game three

EG looked to bounce back in game three with comfort picks for their two cores, as Arteezy was put on Naga Siren and Abed was given Storm Spirit. Ramzes’ Omniknight, Cr1t’s Tiny, and Fly’s Lich formed a potent supporting cast for the two.

Meanwhile, Secret ran with Matumbaman on Leshrac, Nisha on Templar Assassin, zai on Clockwerk, YapzOr on Lion, and Puppey on Winter Wyvern.

The laning phase ended with both teams on relatively equal footing, but EG quickly picked up steam as Abed’s Storm Spirit was key in ensuring that much of the early engagements were ending in his team’s favor.

Both teams then engaged in a long standoff for control of the Roshan pit. While Secret ended up with the Aegis, EG came out ahead of that exchange as they forced their opponents to use multiple buybacks from their cores to secure that objective.

Secret then started to claw their way back into the game, countering EG’s aggression, but both Matumbaman and Nisha were still being far outpaced by Arteezy in terms of farm.

A key Aghanim’s Scepter pickup for Abed turned the tide in EG’s favor, as he was able to control multiple Secret heroes in the ensuing fights that handed his team control of the game. The North American squad secured a 2-1 advantage in the series after its third-straight 45-minute game.

Game four

EG looked to close the series out in game four with Arteezy on Slark, Abed on Templar Assassin, Ramzes on Batrider, Cr1t on Io, and Fly on Winter Wyvern.

Meanwhile, Secret looked to bounce back with Matumbaman on Morphling, Nisha on Leshrac, Zai on an offlane Enchantress, YapzOr on Tiny, and Puppey on Treant Protector.

Secret held a significant lead after the laning phase, which allowed Nisha to go on the offensive across the map and make space for Matumbaman to come back from a rough start.

EG’s lineup was too slow to come online to combat Secret’s fast-paced aggression, which allowed the latter to exert almost full map control and start threatening their opponents’ base.

EG later showed signs of life by repelling the ensuing siege attempts by Secret, notably taking down Matumbaman during those engagements. However, they couldn’t take advantage of those key takedowns as Nisha and the rest of Secret did not give them any openings.

Secret’s overwhelming advantage eventually allowed them to march up the EG high ground and to start methodically taking down their barracks. This forced the North American squad to tap out after 36 minutes to force the finals to a deciding game five.

Game five

Secret entered the final game of the series with a strong midgame composition, with Matumbaman on Phantom Lancer, Nisha on Kunkka, Zai on Batrider, YapzOr on Tiny, and Puppey on a support Enchantress.

Meanwhile, EG opted for a high-damage ranged core duo of Drow Ranger and Viper for Arteezy and Abed, respectively. They also had Ramzes on Underlord, Cr1t on Dark Willow, and Fly on Treant Protector to back them up.

Secret came out of the laning phase with a significant lead, which they made good use of by taking over much of the map while EG were still trying to hit their timings. That led to Secret enjoying a 10,000 gold lead just 20 minutes into the game, as all their heroes far outpaced their counterparts.

Despite EG’s best efforts, they simply could not stand up to a Secret lineup headed by Matumbaman’s Phantom Lancer, who seemed nigh unstoppable with a Heart of Tarrasque already at the 25-minute mark.

Secret cruised to the championship from there, methodically taking down EG’s outer towers and demolishing their barracks to force the GG call after 35 minutes.

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