OG vs Team Secret – MDL Disneyland Major

The fourth Major of the competitive season 2018/2019 hosts 16 participating teams, one million dollars in prizes and 15,000 DPC points to be distributed. The 16 teams were divided into four groups of four teams each. Now we hit the playoffs of the competition where some of the best teams are competing for Supremacy.

We should tell you that all matches from now will be played in the best of three format. Meanwhile, the grand finale will be contested in the best of five format. It will be quite exciting to see which team will lift the trophy and which new teams will secure their invite to the TI9.

We picked this match for you since it is between the TI8 champions, OG and the 2nd ranked team in the DPC circuit, Secret. We are all well aware of the fact that Secret has been simply remarkable this season. They had their fair share of success and are guaranteed a slot in the TI9. Meanwhile, this is the possibly the biggest game for OG in the entire season. The world champions failed to even participate in a single DPC competition and now are in the top 6 of a Major. Does the side have what it takes to make it to the Upper Bracket final at the cost of Secret? Let’s have a look.

Team Secret vs OG – MDL Disneyland Major

One of the most exciting series of the competition that will take place in a couple of days is not what most people expected at the start of the tournament.

Both Team Secret and OG arrive in this tournament after securing a top 6 finish in the MDL Major. Team Secret compete against OG after winning a very closely contested series against the Chinese side PSG.LGD. This was a very expected result from their high standards but we can’t say the same for the TI8 champions, OG.

OG rising from the depth

OG performed exceptionally back in August by winning TI. Yet since that remarkable achievement, the team continued to decline in form. They made multiple replacements for Anathan “ana” Pham but none of them seem to work since the side failed to qualify for a single Major/Minor tournament. Yet, just on the eve of the qualifies of the MDL Disneyland Paris Major 2019 Ana made his return to OG and the side qualified for the tournament. Not even a single critic expected OG to perform this well. Yet, they have defied all the odds and are in a decent place to at least secure a top 3 finish if they do the same to Secret what they did to VP in the first game.

Technically speaking OG is a more successful competitive team that Secret since they have won the TI. Yet in the 2018-2019 season Secret seems unstoppable.

Secret winning big with a new team

After a somewhat disappointing performance at the TI8, Team Secret made a couple of changes to its roster in the offseason. It proved to be a great decision since the EU side has been quite successful compared to last season. Statistics indicate that this Secret roster is the second most successful team in the history of LAN Dota 2 competitions, with an incredible 84-25 record. The first ranked team is Team Zephyr who made a 32-7 record in 2014 by beating far less superior sides in South Korea.

This season Secret has managed to get its hands on 4 trophies. Apart from the 5th-8th place at the Main Cast Autumn Brawl, the EU side has finished in the top four of every single competition

OG seems unstoppable

Meanwhile, OG had a tougher opponent in the upper bracket, Virtus.Pro. The CIS team is currently the only team in the DPC to make it to the grand finale of every single Major. OG was expected to lose this confrontation to get dropped to the lower bracket. Yet the TI8 champions completely demolished Virtus.Pro in the first round of the Upper Bracket. It took OG less than 45 minutes to beat VP 2-0 and qualify for the next stage.

It was not an individual brilliance by a single player that formulated this win. It was the exceptional style of play by OG that allowed them to outclass their opponents. In both of the games played, OG did shy to take on early team fights. They were well aware of when to farm and when to push for objectives. This is a simple explanation to why the first game against VP lasted for less than 23 minutes while the second was only played for 19 minutes.

OG for the win

OG will be reluctant to replicate this style of play against Team Secret on the 10th of May. They have all the talent and skill to secure the first spot of the Upper Bracket final and they may very well do it.

The playing strategy of OG is quite simple and effective and at the same time. The side just loves to team up and force the opponent to take the fights they don’t want to. This is quite difficult to deal with if one decides to go into the late game against OG. Meanwhile, if the opponent looks for early push then map pushing tactics of OG are yet to be matched. Despite what the odds say on other platforms, it will be foolish to count out OG against Secret. They have Ana back in their ranks which was something that the side really missed in the entire season. Secret will not be some pushover, so we really expect an incredible series between the two. Yet we believe that OG will just edge the victory.

Final Verdict

OG 2-1 Team Secret

Odds on bookmakers

Bookmakers	Team Secret Odds		OG Odds
	European	American	European	American
GG.bet	1.31	-322.58	3.25	+225.00
Loot.bet	1.35	-285.71	3.12	+212.00
10bet	1.28	-357.14	3.50	+250.00
Uni Bet	1.27	-370.37	3.50	+250.00