One of the biggest Dota 2 events in recent months, ESL One Germany 2020, came to an end over the weekend. Twists and turns came not only in the groups but also in the playoffs and Team Liquid were crowned champions.
A Dota 2 event is over and Team Secret aren’t the champions. Yeah, you’ve read that right. What many of us saw as undoubtedly, the best Dota 2 team in Europe and maybe the world fell to fourth place in ESL One Germany.
Secret’s Struggle in ESL One Germany
Clement “Puppey" Ivanov and his squad had a superb start in the group stage where they finished with a perfect 3-0 score. Entering the playoffs things changed. Team Secret were on the brink of losing to Team Nigma in the first round but managed to wrap it up with 2-1. Their next opponent in the event was mudgolems. Easy right? Wrong. The underdogs took down the star team with a convincing 2-0 which sent Secret to the lower bracket. There, Puppey’s team dominated Alliance but then faced Team Liquid and we saw the same score as with mudgolems.
Team Liquid showed us they have what it takes to beat the best. The first game was contested to the end, but Liquid came out on top. The second was clearly a stomp and it ended Team Secret’s run in the tournament, leaving them in fourth place.
Team Liquid Take the Title
In the meantime, Na’Vi earned a spot in the grand finals after defeating mudgolems. Team Liquid’s next opponent in the lower bracket were the latter and both matches were pretty close. Liquid took the series after two games, and their final test was already waiting in the finals.
Liquid started out great with two consecutive victories but Natus Vincere were able to return fire in game three of the series. The fourth match proved to be the last one as Team Liquid’s cores went out of control. Michael "miCKe" Vu’s Juggernaut was impossible to deal with for Na’Vi and even their Anti-Mage pick couldn’t save them against Liquid’s Storm Spirit.
Team Liquid’s victory at ESL One Germany 2020 came as a surprise to many but the team surely earned it. Team Secret’s insane win streak finally came to an end. Liquid grabbed a lion’s share of $150,000 in prize money from the $400,000 pool. More importantly, they were able to defeat the most dominant team in Europe and that’s saying something. Additionally, Liquid’s Aydin "iNSaNiA" Sarkohi was titled the MVP of the tournament and received a brand-new Mercedes Benz for it.
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