StarLadder XII has already reached the elimination stage with Team Tinker and London Conspiracy ready to compete for the right to remain in the competition. On the main stage European titans Team Secret are ready to take on the new SEA powerhouse Team MY.
Schedule for April 24th:
Cloud 9 vs. Team Tinker: 2-0
ViCi Gaming vs. London Conspiracy: 2-0
Team MY vs. Team Secret: 2-1
Team Tinker vs. London Conspiracy: 2-0
Invictus Gaming vs. Alliance: 19:00 CEST
Schedule has changed to incorporate iG vs. [A]
View our Survival Guide for Day One
The tournament has already got two upper bracket semi-finalists ready to compete later today, but first we have a mouth watering clash between the top teams from Europe and South East Asia ready to battle it out to force their opponent into the lower bracket. StarLadder also have their first elimination match of the tournament where Team Tinker will be hoping to bounce back after an out-of-sorts second game performance against Cloud 9 earlier today.
Main Stage: Team Secret vs. Team MY 1-2
GosuBet: Team Secret 80% Team MY 20%
Team MY were only formed at the end of last month but the team have already gone on to imprint itself as one of the best South East Asian teams competing at the moment. Formed from some of the most talented players from Malaysia including three former-Orange and Titan players, Team MY have managed to secure qualification for three major LAN events already. However, this is their debut event and they will be coming up against the GosuRankings #1 team in the world in their opening match. Team Secret will definitely be favourites for this match, but it will definitely be a test to see how far Team MY have come over the past month and if they can get anything from this match.
Game One Team MY wins
Team MY fielded an aggressive draft with Axe, Viper and a core Leshrac to compete against a lineup featuring Shadow Fiend, Earthshaker and Lina. The early pressure from Team MY was proving to be a success with Viper sitting far above his opponents on the net worth charts as Secret seemed to falter with all their first tier towers gone in the first 14 minutes. A series of big team fights began with Team MY increasing their advantage and a hard fought Roshan battle saw Team Secret lose four to secure a stop the Malaysians from claiming the Aegis. A slow siege by Team MY allowed them to claim their first tier three tower with little in response from their European opponents. Leading by a gradually increasing amount of 22 kills Team MY claimed their first barracks and despite a series of team fights, Team MY continued to push the match into an nonredeemable stage and secured a dominant victory in the 45th minute.
Game Two Team Secret wins
Team Secret needed to bounce back from their opening loss to bounce back in the series and met a draft featuring a safe lane Storm Spirit and mid lane Night Stalker. Secret's supports decision to hug the mid lane allowed Puppey's Bane to turn around a first blood attempt to secure the opening kill with Kuroky. Their early game advantage was dampened by an aggressive Ohaiyo playing Bristleback who caused havoc on the bot lane. Team MY were attempting to replicate the successful early game pressure from the first game but as the game pushed into the mid-game Secret were able to start securing some important kills. A counter-push by Secret to damage the tier three tower while MY pushed bot was punished, but it showed the danger of letting Kuroky's Io slip through the drafting process. A massive team fight in the enemy jungle saw the Europeans team wipe the Malaysians, only to repeat their team fight success two minutes later. Team Secret were on the warpath and with the critical damage from Arteezy's Phantom Assassin Team MY's advantage had almost vanished. Determined to turn this game around Team Secret assaulted the enemy base and Arteezy annihilated their opponents outside their own fountain to force an end to the game and even out the series.
Game Three Team MY wins
Possibly sensing MY's weakness in the previous game, Secret first picked the Io, this time with the addition of Tiny. Kuroky was already causing havoc with his tether but the Malaysians were able to take another early game advantage. Narrowly ahead through the early game with a rare appearance from zai's Sand King and s4's Zeus both struggling to make an impact on the game. An incredible stun on Arteezy and Kuroky instantly as they relocated in to secure a kill saw three heroes die on Secret and enforced MY's superiority but soon enough the Tiny and Io combination were attempting to rat their way to victory on the bottom lane. But it was MY that broke into the enemy base first, taking a building each time they were able to push into their opponents base. Secret were running out of options by 33 minutes, with no chance to split push with Kuroky due to the sheer building damage from a protected kyXy's Juggernaut by Mushi's repel. A last ditch Roshan attempt was caught out and with nothing left in the tank, Team Secret were forced to call 'GG' by 35 minutes and allow Team MY to secure an impressive opening victory in their debut LAN event. A sensational victory for a team formed only a single month ago.
Second Stage: Team Tinker vs. London Conspiracy 2-0
GosuBet: Team Tinker 80% London Conspiracy 20%
Team Tinker came close to snatching a game from Cloud 9 after a 95 minute marathon, but they seemed to fall apart in their second game of the series. With luck not on their side in multiple occasions, the American roster will have to dust themselves off to push for an expected victory over newcomers London Conspiracy. The Greek roster were placed against the immensely difficult challenge of taking down ViCi Gaming and were knocked into the lower bracket before Team Tinker's opening game had even finished. An inspired performance and draft from London Conspiracy could force an upset from a disorganized Team Tinker, but the American team should be able to come away with the win.
Game One Team Tinker wins
A big focus on Team Tinker over their previous series was Bulba, rated by many as the MVP of the opening game only to suffer immensely with Night Stalker in the second. This game he was drafted on an unusual offlane Faceless Void a role he dominated on. But it was the safe lane that came under fire with an endless early game battle with London Conspiracy picking up multiple kills against Black^ and wayto. Progressing towards the mid-game the stats between the teams were fairly even apart from a massive net worth lead for Keyser's Lycan. Bulba was responsible for gradually bring Tinker back into the game with a series of great Chronospheres combining with the magical damage of qojqva's Zeus. A dangerous 27 minute push with Necronomicons from Conspiracy was met by a solid defense from the American team but a team wipe allowed the Greeks to claim an Aegis and a big advantage with barracks exposed. But Bulba's chronospheres continued to catch multiple heroes to keep them in the game at multiple stages through the game and Team Tinker eventually secured a 48 minute victory after a hard fought battle.
Game Two Team Tinker wins
Team Tinker secured an early kill advantage over their opponent with a draft featuring Shadow Fiend, Anti-Mage and Nyx Assassin as London Conspiracy were punished for their mistakes. By 15 minutes the American team had taken a substantial kill lead but the game had a slow pace to it with Conspiracy seeming to prepare for the late game. But with the size of qojqva's Shadow Fiend building past 12,000 net worth and repeated deaths for RealaxXx's Axe, it was questionable whether they could actually reach that stage. With wayto, Bulba and qojqva controlling the enemy jungle Tinker forced Conspiracy to find farm elsewhere as qojqva increased in size. With a beyond godlike streak on his Shadow Fiend, Tinker finally started to begin destroying towers after the 30 minute mark. A failed Aegis steal by Keyser allowed Tinker to take two sets of barracks and force a 35 minute 'GG' to eliminate London Conspiracy from the tournament after two 2-0 losses.
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