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After a disappointing performance in the One Esports Dota 2 Singapore Major, Team Nigma bounced back to winning ways with a 2-0 washout over heavyweights, Team Secret.
Considering the fact that Team Nigma was coming in with a new roster as well as the raging hot form that Team Secret has been on, many Dota 2 fans would have bet on the latter to emerge victorious. However, Team Nigma defied all odds and managed to secure a 2-0 victory in their opening series of DPC season 2.
Here are few points from the series that need additional mention before heading further into the DPC. Here are the top five talking points from Team Nigma's match against Team Secret's Dota 2 roster.
Talking points from Team Nigma's victory against Team Secret's Dota 2 roster
Secret.Puppey's Jungling Venomancer
Introduced in the first game of the series, Clement "Puppey" Ivanov elected to play a jungling Venomancer instead of going for traditional roaming support. Although the plan started to work well and Team Secret managed to amass a notable gold advantage, the Venomancer's impact eventually dropped off as Team Nigma's item builds ensured a hard fought victory in the first game of Dota 2.
Nigma.iLTW's impact on the map
In both games from the series, Igor "ILTW" Filatov seemed extremely comfortable with the rest of Team Nigma's line-up. Playing an extremely safe first game in his signature trademark, ILTW died only once during the entire 43 minute course of the game.
Additionally, the carry player proved his versatility in the second game where he was seen playing a front-line Gyrocopter to set up kills for his team mates.
Nigma.Gh's incredible plays
Undoubtedly one of the best roaming supports in Dota 2, Maround "Gh" Merhej pulled off some extraordinary plays with both Tusk and IO.
Apart from setting up some exceptional plays with Tusk, Gh was able to save his team's cores on multiple occasions with Snowball and Relocate during the course of both matches.
Secret.Matumbaman's Phantom Lancer pick
After going a game down in the series, not many captains in professional Dota 2 would draft a hero who had been hit with a massive nerf on the same day. However, Puppey is no ordinary captain in Dota 2.
Nevertheless, whatever the plan might have been for Team Secret, Lasse "Matumbaman" Aukusti Urpalainen was unable to execute any of it as Phantom Lancer. Additionally, Team Nigma managed to hunt him down four times, making it even harder for Matumbaman to gather any farm.
Nigma.Miracle returns to the Mid Lane
After numerous speculations and requests from the community for Amen "Miracle" Al-Barkawi to return to his signature mid-lane role, the second DPC season saw the former TI winning mid-laner make a return to the role in Dota 2.
After featuring in some flashy plays in the first match with Puck, Miracle showed why he is considered one of the mid-laners in the world during the second match. Playing an untraditional mid-lane hero in the form of Sand King, Miracle kept hunting the entire arena for kills throughout the course of the match.
With a hyper-active playstyle on an untraditional hero, Miracle participated in 26 kills while dying only once throughout the course of the match. Needless to say, Miracle has reminded everyone in the community why he is regarded as one of the best mid-laners in Dota 2.
