Team Secret Defeats Thunder Predator at ONE Esports Singapore Major

The Playoffs Stage of ONE Esports Singapore Major has begun and the first 4 Upper Bracket matches clearly proved who the top contenders are. Team Secret obliterated the strongest team of the Group Stage, Thunder Predator, while PSG.LGD proved to be stronger than anticipated.

ONE Esports Singapore Major Playoffs Day 1 Results

Evil Geniuses was the winner of the North American Upper Division, so they’ve just had their first match of the tournament. Fnatic knew they couldn’t play in a standard way against their opponent and decided to pick Techies in the second game of the match. The first one ended quickly, in just 26 minutes, after Storm Spirit and Death Prophet took over the map. But the second one needed 50 minutes to conclude. Arteezy’s Naga Siren proved to be a strong counterpick to Techies, thanks to her illusions. But Artour still died a few times after stepping on mines, even though he had a Heart of Tarrasque.

In the second match of the day, Invictus Gaming defeated one more time their regional rival, Vici Gaming, after 3 challenging games. Their next match will be a bit more challenging, as Evil Geniuses are now competing with an amazing roster and are capable of beating anyone, except perhaps Team Secret.

The third match of day 1 was a bit challenging for Puppey and his crew, but in the end it was clear that Secret is still the strongest team in the world. What’s interesting about this match is that Puppey picked the same 3 heroes in both games: Tusk, Mars, and Enchantress. In particular, Mars is a fascinating choice. Both Fnatic and Virtus.pro failed with this hero but Secret made it work.

The fourth match was the most surprising of the 4. Virtus.pro was expected to win and they weren’t far from doing that. But PSG.LGD picked Troll Warlord in both games and played him to perfection.  As a result of this victory, the Chinese team will encounter Secret in the 2^nd round of the Upper Bracket.

Day 2 Preview

Day 2 of ONE Esports Singapore Major will feature 4 matches:

Virtus.pro vs. Quincy Crew

Virtus.pro may have struggled against PSG.LGD, but let’s not forget that Quincy Crew lost against them as well. Furthermore, Quinn’s team is playing with a severe disadvantage because they have a stand-in. Under these circumstances, victory should belong to the CIS squad.

Thunder Predator vs. Team Aster

If Secret had to play well to defeat Thunder Predator, then Team Aster is guaranteed to have a hard time against them. Aster is competing with a stand-in in this match and their opponent is one of the most exciting teams of the tournament. If I had to guess a score, I would say 2 – 0 in favor of Thunder Predator. The same thing happened in the Group Stage of ONE Esports Singapore Major, and that encounter was a Bo2!

Vici Gaming vs. Team Liquid

Liquid has a good chance of winning this match. They already won against Vici Gaming in the Group Stage, so it’s clear that they understand their Chinese opponent very well. The match will not be easy and I certainly expect to see 3 games. But Liquid should be able to win it.

Fnatic vs. Neon

Neon has had not one, but two stand-ins at this tournament. Initially, Natsumi- had to be replaced by Rappy. Then Rappy himself had to be replaced by Deth. It’s been a rough tournament so far for Neon and I’m pretty sure they’ll go home empty-handed. That’s because there are no prizes except for the top 8 teams. This is not how Valve used to do things, but there you have it.

 

Photo credit: Valve