EPICENTER’s BEYOND EPIC came to an end this weekend. While Team Secret took another in EU/CIS there was a turn of events in the China region.
Dota 2 events haven’t been lacking lately as more and more tournaments turned into an online format due to the coronavirus restrictions. BEYOND EPIC was EPICENTER’s way of making it up to fans as the original LAN was canceled. The event had only two regions EU/CIS and China.
EU/CIS: Team Secret Grabs the Title
The first four teams to get eliminated in the group stage were Team Unique, Team Empire, Ninjas in Pyjamas, and B8. It looks like the changes made to Danil “Dendi” Ishutin’s squad weren’t enough. The remaining eight fought it off in the playoffs. An honorable mention for the event goes to Vikin.gg who turned from a Tier 2 team to decent competitors against the best. OG and Alliance went home early as both teams seem to be struggling at the moment.
Team Liquid defeated Team Secret in round one of the upper bracket and this was a new one as we’d usually see Clement “Puppey” Ivanov’s squad mow through the competition. This time they had to go through the lower bracket and they had no trouble doing that. With a series of 2:0 victories, Secret took out Vikin.gg, FlyToMoon, and Team Liquid. In the grand finals, they met with Team Nigma which didn’t present much of a challenge as the series ended after three games. Team Secret took their sixth champion title (previous ones include WePlay! Pushka League, Gamers Without Borders, OGA Dota PIT, ESL One Birmingham, and BLAST Bounty Hunt) in a row and we’re really wondering if anyone can even stop them at this point.
Nobody can stop them. Team Secret are the champion of BEYOND EPIC, congratulations! EU/CIS, Grand Final:@teamsecret [3-0] @TeamNigma (bo5)#epicgg #dota #dota2 pic.twitter.com/BNi6BA6mzE
— EPICENTER (@epicentergg) June 28, 2020
For placing first Secret grabbed $80,000 in prize money out of the $200,000 pool.
China: Sparking Arrow Gaming - The Unlikely Champions
Things in China were quite different from the other region. While Secret and Nigma are usually the two teams standing at the top in recent events, the Chinese scene is more uncertain. A total of eight teams competed in here and half of them were gone after the group stage. This left us with PSG.LGD, RNGU, Vici Gaming, and Sparking Arrow Gaming in the playoffs. If you had to guess who the winner is, you’d probably bet on one of the three powerhouses. You couldn’t be further from the truth though.
Sparking Arrow Gaming lost to Vici Gaming in round one of the upper bracket, but they managed to pull it off similarly to Secret. Once in the bowels of the lower bracket, SAG defeated PSG.LGD and RNGU earning their spot in the grand finals. There they faced Vici once again and stomped them with a 3:0 victory. Despite being the youngest team in the tournament SAG proved they have what it takes to be the best.
Sparking Arrow Gaming defeated VICI Gaming with 3-0 score and now they are officially the champion of BEYOND EPIC! #epicgg #dota #dota2 pic.twitter.com/CS5EyC8R5L
— EPICENTER (@epicentergg) June 28, 2020
SAG took home $20,000 in prize money out of the $50,000 pool. This isn’t the organization’s first major victory as back in April they won the CDA League Season 1, where they played against the best China had to offer. Is Sparking Arrow Gaming the next big team coming from China?
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