We are approaching close to the third week of DreamLeague Season 15 DPC Europe. This week’s spotlight is Team Secret versus Alliance. Both are top seeds in the Europe Upper Division Season 2 and are indeed the region’s powerhouses.
As such, everyone is eager to know which team will stand victorious on April 29 at 12 AM (UTC). Here’s my matchup breakdown, and a look at available Dota 2 betting options.
Nikolay “Nikobaby” Nikolov
It’s a rough spot to be in as an Alliance fan after they flopped the Singapore Major. Yet, back on home soil, Gustav “s4” Magnusson and his crew are again taking out their local rivals with ease. They are currently on a triple-win streak, and set to meet their hardest opponent yet.
Of course, they did deserve all the recent attention, considering they defeated team OG in a fairly contested match. Albeit, a clutching 2-1 victory, team OG was the region’s most anticipated team of the season after awakening ana from his year-long slumber.
Pointing the spotlight back at Alliance, they have been phenomenal in their recent Dota Pro Circuit 2021 (DPC 2021) matches. Frankly, there weren’t many flashy plays, but just overall consistent movement and drafts. Nikolay “Nikobaby” Nikolov’s diverse hero pool makes him challenging to counter during the drafts, but he usually enjoys Morphling and Faceless Void. The rest of Alliance prefers a sustainable draft, where they plan to outlast their foes in fights.
It’s certainly a boring but effective countermeasure against the popular meta of fast-paced team-fighting familiar among rivals, such as OG and Nigma.
On the other end of the spectrum, Team Secret was Europe’s most achieved team at the Singapore Major. Although fans envisioned Clement “Puppey” Ivanov’s seasoned stack to roll over its competition. Instead, it was Evil Geniuses and Invictus Gaming that hoarded the glory.
To make matters worse, Team Secret debuted the second season with a devastating loss to Nigma. They did manage to compensate for the single loss with two wins from Hellbear Smashers and Tundra Esports. But, those aren’t exactly the grandest team in the competition.
As for drafts, Puppey is notoriously known for his unorthodox drafting strategies. With over thirty different heroes played in the last eight games, we can only expect to be surprised by Team Secret’s hero choices again. Of course, that diversity in hero options is contributed by their flawless delivery in the game.
Now then, the question everybody is pondering upon: who will stand victorious? On paper, Team Secret certainly has the fans’ backing, considering their dominance since the start of DPC 2021. So much that Alliance’s clean streak felt underwhelming. We can expect Alliance to once again have their mid-player, Linus “Limmp” Blomdin, on durable heroes. This is to indirectly provide space for the other two prominent carry players, NikoBaby and s4, to shine.
On the other hand, Team Secret will probably be playing whatever heroes they are in a mood for. That said, they do intend on letting Michał “Nisha” Jankowski shine by playing around him with wombo combos.
The Dota 2 odds are stacked against Alliance to win at x2.89 while Team Secret is on x1.39 odds. Alternatively, a quick wager on Team Secret to secure first blood will land an x1.7 return. Considering how frequent they prioritize first blood to gain early momentum, it should be a breeze.
Alliance usually does not overwhelm their opponents in kill count. Hence, if you root for Alliance to win a map, consider selecting anywhere between +-3.5 in Kills Handicap. That would land at least x2.5 returns.
Lastly, the two giants will probably have an all-out series, so a full-course best-of-three is feasible. Assuming Team Secret wins, a 2:1 victory will bag x3.16 in winnings, a likely outcome if we have to say so ourselves.
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