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The LCQ teams clashed in today's Dota 2 The International 11 Lower Bracket Finals. Liquid had a glorious run in the lower bracket, constantly engaging in team fights, executing synced teamplays, and eliminating Dota 2 teams. But they finally ran out of steam as Team Secret with Puppey's Enchantress closed out the series 2-1.
MATUMBAMAN has already refused to give up on his swan song throughout the tournament, managing to scratch, scrap and often dominate through their matches to the lower bracket finals. While many had hoped that this would be the fixture for the grand finals, a defeat at the hands of Tundra Esports yesterday sealed Secret's place in the lower bracket final.
Dota 2 TI 11 has had some excellent matches and this series was no different.
How did the Dota 2 series go between Team Liquid and Team Secret
Game 1
- Team Liquid: Enigma, Tusk, Lifestealer, Lich, Primal Beast
- Team Secret: Silencer, Nyx Assassin, Silencer, Beastmaster, Morphling
It took some time to get the first blood, as Primal Beast took down Sniper around the 5 minute mark. Secret jumped Lifestealer in the mid lane a little later, but MATUMBAMAN managed a nail-biting escape with little health by infesting a creep and turning the fight. Both teams constantly kept fighting each other, with Morphling building a considerable gold lead.
Enigma repeatedly failed to have a decent Black Hole to set up a fight, being constantly controlled and stunned, especially by Secret's Nyx Assassin. While Lifestealer managed to have a significant farm in the game, Morphling, Sniper and Beastmaster soon started snowballing.
Secret took Tier 3 towers and barracks down around 26 minutes in the game. While Liquid tried to put up some sort of a defense, a Nisha masterclass was already in session and Secret notched up the first victory in the series.
Game 2
- Team Liquid: Sniper, Tiny, Jakiro, Tusk, Broodmother
- Team Secret: Silencer, Monkey King, Primal Beast, Queen of Pain, Nyx Assassin
Liquid took an early lead with Broodmother having a decent time in lane but Secret started making some ground with their Primal Beast and Monkey King combination. Silencer often made a difference in fights and mid-lane saw a number of dives and skirmishes.
MATUMBAMAN's Sniper kept farming a terrifying lead as the match wore on, managing to secure Aegis. Control of the game still seemed balanced on the knife's edge with Liquid ahead by 2k gold at the 25-minute mark with the scoreline being 18-14 in their favor.
A crazy fight took place in the bot lane, with Sniper taking down heroes down while standing in the Wukong's Command and surviving for some time with a sliver of health. Secret lost four of its heroes and Liquid took down the first Tier 3 tower. Liquid camped further in the bottom lane to bring down the barracks.
A smoke-on-smoke broke out next in Secret's Radiant triangle. Although Liquid had better vision, Secret ran rout over them with the help of Global Silence from the Silencer. The next fight took place around the Roshan pit, MATUMBAMAN respawned and found himself again in the Wukong's Command.
His team bailed him out and Liquid put another Aegis on the Sniper. The siege began with Sniper hitting from range and Broodmother's spiderlings swarming Secret's buildings. No matter what Primal Beast and co. tried, Sniper already had his BKB and his team was there to make sure his gun kept shooting. Dota 2 + gave Secret a 5% chance of making a come back.
Liquid claimed mega creeps around the 37 minute mark and the game started looking bleaker and bleaker for Puppey's men. Secret gg'd out soon after and MATUMBAMAN had one more chance to make his way to the Dota 2 TI 11 grand final.
Game 3
- Team Liquid: Tusk, Lina, Undying, Lifestealer, Brewmaster
- Team Secret: Enchantress, Beastmaster, Invoker, Earthshaker, Drow Ranger
Brewmaster was last-picked by Team Liquid with elimination in contention and MATUMBAMAN potentially playing his last professional Dota 2 match. Drow Ranger got the first blood on Tusk within the first few minutes and had a decent amount of damage output on the two Liquid Dota 2 heroes throughout.
Tusk rotated mid to help Lina score a kill on Invoker before either heroes are level 6. Liquid followed it soon after with two more kills on Earthshaker and Beastmaster but Puppey managed to get a kill on Undying in return. The early game saw creep waves being dragged out of lane with both teams making moves.
Lina's first Laguna Blade was on Invoker's Forged Spirit to stop it from denying an invisible rune. They managed to get a kill on Invoker but Lina overstayed her welcome. Secret rallied back up and killed Liquid's mid Dota 2 hero and claimed the Dire Tier 1 tower.
Both teams clashed again in the top lane, with Lina cleaning the house along with Brewmaster and Undying. Although Lina did die at the end of the fight after diving under the Tier 1 tower to kill Drow, she got huge value from the skirmish and managed to buy her BKB before dying.
Liquid started roaming as a terrifying group of Dota 2 heroes and Invoker again fell to them. They quickly made their way to the Roshan pit and Lina picked up the Aegis. The game stalled for a little while but then Liquid went a bit too far trying to go for kills in Radiant's triangle.
Secret took down Brewmaster before he got a split and then were able to team wipe Liquid. But Liquid struck back hard soon after, killing four Secret heroes in the top lane and threatening high ground. Although the Tier 3 tower did not fall, it took a significant amount of damage.
Liquid managed to get Lina the Aegis again but they lost three heroes. Drow Ranger almost fell but ran away with a sliver of health. The game continued its back-and-forth nature, with each team landing one heavy punch after the other.
Force staffs galore meant Secret could easily position their cores in a fight where they caught Lina off-guard. Secret managed to find a better footing in the Dota 2 game, getting one kill after the other. A sneaky Dire triangle ward allowed Secret to kill both Lifestealer and Tusk, as they continued to threaten high ground and take down Tier 3 towers and barracks.
The third Aegis went into the hands of the Drow Ranger and a fight soon started in the top lane. Lina and Lifestealer were burst down but the former bought back. The walls had started to close in on Liquid by then as Secret started hitting Ancient. With no more defense left, Secret sealed the deal by taking the structure down.
They will be meeting Tundra Esports in the Grand Finals later in the day. The match marked the end of Liquid's run in this year's Dota 2 TI and the end of MATUMBAMAN's iconic Dota 2 professional career. He will go down in the annals of the game as one of the greatest players to grace the stage with multiple wins, including a TI.
