TI6 Group Stage: DC make a statement, Secret stumble

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Day two of Group B is complete and in the books. Digital Chaos and EHOME both continue making massive statements as Newbee and Team Secret stumble uncontrollably after their impressive starts.

Digital Chaos: A power surge

Digital Chaos must have had a robust breakfast because the boys came out to play. DC dropped just one of their six games on the day while they surged to second place in Group B, just one point short of EHOME. Two of their series were sweeps against Newbee and Team Secret. The teams had impressive performances on day one, but both ran into a brick wall in the form of DC.

Game one between Digital Chaos and Newbee was extremely slow. The game lacked any real attempt to engage in a team fight from either side. Newbee drafted a Drow Ranger lineup that never truly got going in terms of taking towers and in the end, it was DC that benefitted the most from a farm oriented game, boasting the best farmer with their Alchemist pick. The game essentially just ended with a failed high ground defense from Newbee as they called a quick, anticlimactic ‘GG’. In game two, early pressure from Digital Chaos kept Newbee’s Drow Ranger lineup in check. Slark and Nyx Assassin scouted out Newbee heroes and made farming difficult for their cores. The game further snowballed and Newbee called GG before 17 minutes and in a shocking upset, DC dominated their series against Newbee.

Their final test of the day came from Secret. Team Secret opted for a Huskar in game one played by Artour 'Arteezy' Babaev. Digital Chaos put a wrench in Secret’s strategy by placing an aggressive tri-lane against the weak laner, leaving Timbersaw and Axe in a one versus one matchup. DC pressed their slight advantage from the laning phase into the midgame, taking several towers. At 23 minutes DC claimed aegis, and began the high ground push minutes later. DC claimed the bottom lane of barracks and mid tier three tower before deciding to back and reset with aegis having been exhausted. Back in was the call as they marched through mid lane and forced the GGs out of Team Secret just after 30 minutes.

In game two, it was Team Secret that came out swinging, and walked away from the laning phase with the early momentum. They managed to sustain their momentum into the mid game taking a crucial fight near the Roshan pit just after claiming aegis. Unfortunately for Secret, they had overestimated their late game capabilities. DC won a huge team fight in the top lane at 38 minutes with fresh Black King Bars at their disposal. Minutes later, DC would claim aegis and begin their search for an angle to take high ground. That moment would come at 48 minutes when they took a couple of tier three towers but loss of aegis forced them to retreat. While a fight broke out in the middle lane, Morphling took the opportunity to conquer the Secret top lane of barracks. With Faceless Void forced to buyback to defend he later fell again and was out with no buyback. DC marched through the Secret base and completed the comeback just after an hour of game play.

What was arguably the most impressive thing about DC’s victories over Newbee and Secret was they knew exactly what needed to be done with their lineups to be successful. The execution of their strategy was flawless, and their general understanding of how to win the game was exemplary. DC proved today they are capable of the next step.

No place like EHOME: the push to the top

As impressive as DC’s run on day two was, EHOME’s was better. The long shot, qualifier team did not drop a single game on day two, sweeping the likes of Secret, MVP Phoenix and Newbee. Daryl 'iceiceice' Pei Xiang Koh seems to have found his place as carry of the reorganized roster, doing plenty of work for his squad.

In the Secret series, EHOME came into game one dominating, as they claimed kills across the map and denied Secret any real farm. But even with this massive lead, they lacked the ability to push the Radiant high ground easily. With an hour passed in the game, it was Arteezy on a Morphling that was the only issue standing in the way of EHOME’s victory but not for too long. Utilizing Kunkka’s “X-Marks the Spot” the Dire team managed to chip down the barracks of Secret and claim mega creeps. Even with Arteezy trying to make a backdoor attempt, EHOME claimed game one. EHOME looked unstoppable once again in game two as they completely dominated Secret. In just over twenty one minutes the Dire team had only found three kills while iceiceice on Timbersaw destroyed their lineup, ending on 10/1/3. EHOME claimed the second game and the series 2-0 as Team Secret knew they had no way to respond and threw in the GG.

At the end of day two, EHOME sit at the top of Group B as the lone leaders with nine points to their name. The team has without a doubt sent ripples throughout the sea of competitors, and will seek to further push the tide in their favor on day three of the group stages and into the main event.

Team Secret and NewBee: an uncontrollable stumble

If the old superstition was ‘if you step on a crack then you break your own back’ then Team Secret tripped over a massive crack and landed on just about every one available to them on the way down. After ending day one tied for first in the group, Secret lost every single game they played on day two, essentially securing a lower bracket appearance heading into the main event. The teams they lost to include EHOME, Fnatic and Digital Chaos. The performance comes as quite the disappointment to Secret fans and more than anyone, the players themselves. If Secret start in the lower bracket, just remember, they would not be the first team to navigate their way through the entirety of the lower bracket to win an event if they manage to do so. To accomplish this, they will need to get on the same page.

If you would excuse the pun, Newbee’s situation isn’t as dire. The team got swept by DC and EHOME, but they managed to sweep a series of their own against Fnatic. They currently sit at five points and if the group stage ended today they would still make the upper bracket, but it indeed does not and they opened the door to dropping into the lower bracket. Vici Gaming Reborn had a fantastic day two and will be seeking to exploit that opening into the upper bracket.