2021 DPC Season 1 Week 5 recap: Secret secure first Singapore Major invite

We are now in the last week of competition for (most) of the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC). Through five weeks of action, Team Secret, currently the best team in Europe, unsurprisingly become the first team to secure a direct invite to the playoffs of the upcoming ONE Esports Singapore Major.

While a number of different teams have already guaranteed themselves a spot in the Major, they are still jostling for position, with direct seeds to the Major playoffs, group stage, and wildcard stage still on the line. While Week 5 of action in the DPC was of great importance in shaping the field for the Major, the stakes will certainly be higher as we enter the last week of competition.

If you’re still not that familiar with everything that is new in this year’s DPC, you can find out everything you need to know here.

You can also check out our recaps from the past weeks of DPC competition, here’s week one, week two, week three, and week four.

Play of the Week

Brax saves Sammyboy with four clutch Shadow Graves in a row to secure the game-winning fight for 4Zoomers

Carry heroes can't win a game of Dota 2 alone, as evidenced by this play in a close game one in the match between 4Zoomers and Undying over in the North American regional league.

4Zoomers' strategy this game hinged on their two hypercarries, Samuel "Sammyboy" Anderson's Phantom Assassin and Nico "Gunnar" Lopez's Morphling, which essentially relegated the team's offlaner, Braxton "Brax" Paulson, as a glorified support with Dazzle.

That decision to have their third core hero essentially be a support somehow paid off in the end for 4Zoomers, as Brax was able to save Sammyboy from getting picked off at the start of what ended up being the game-winning clash with a preemptive Shadow Grave. Not only did Brax save Sammyboy from Undying's initial burst, he kept him alive through the rest of the fight with one clutch Shadow Grave after another to help seal the victory for his team.

Game of the Week

Team Liquid vs OG Game 2

In what is the fastest and most one-sided game of the entire DPC season thus far, Team Liquid mopped the floor with two-time The International (TI) champions OG, finishing it in 13 minutes and 44 seconds up 25-3 in kills. Liquid capped off this absolute beatdown with a Rampage for Michael "miCKe" Vu on Void Spirit, who finished the game with 10 kills against just one death.

Dota 2 games on the professional level often last over 30 minutes and are rarely this one-sided, so it's jarring to see it happen in the upper division of what is the most competitive regional league in the entire circuit. What's even more jarring is to see the team that won the last two TIs being curbstomped in it. If nothing else, this game will make for some fun viewing if you don't have that much time on your hands (unless you're an OG fan).

Recap

Europe

Week 5 match results

Team Nigma 2-0 Tundra Esports

Team Secret 2-0 High Coast Esports

Alliance 2-1 Vikin.gg

Team Liquid 2-1 OG

Tundra Esports 2-1 Vikin.gg

With another win over High Coast Esports under their belts, Team Secret become the first team in the DPC to secure a direct invite to the Singapore Major, where they will be directly seeded to the playoffs as the top seed of their region. With one match against OG remaining, Secret are also poised to make a clean sweep of their league.

Alliance now have a solid hold on second place, only needing to win one their last match against Team Liquid to ensure they start the Major from the group stage. The two remaining Major wildcard spots are up for grabs between Liquid, Team Nigma, and OG — with the two-time TI champions in real danger of missing the Major.

Meanwhile, Tundra Esports are a long shot to make the Major but still remain in the upper division for next season while Vikin.gg and High Coast Esports are unfortunately relegated to the lower division.

Standings

China

The DPC's Chinese regional league will soon be returning from its hiatus due to the Lunar New Year. Competition in China will resume on 23 February and will end later than the other leagues on 12 March as a result of the mid-season pause.

Standings

Southeast Asia

Week 5 match results

BOOM Esports 2-0 Execration

T1 2-0 Vice Esports

Fnatic 2-1 Neon Esports

TNC Predator 2-0 496 Gaming

BOOM Esports 2-0 Vice Esports

Fnatic take the spot in the Southeast Asian regional league after a huge win over Neon Esports in Week 5. Both squads are still locks to make the Major, but it's looking like Fnatic will be directly seeded to the playoffs.

The third and final Major spot for Southeast Asia is being contested by TNC Predator, T1, and BOOM Esports, with TNC holding the edge over the other two squads. TNC need only win their last match against Fnatic to ensure they make the Major and even force a tiebreaker for a shot at starting from the group stage.

Meanwhile, Vice Esports are pretty much relegated to the lower division while 496 Gaming and Execration are fighting to avoid suffering the same fate.

Standings

CIS

Week 5 match results

EXTREMUM 2-0 Team Empire

Virtus.pro 2-0 No Techies

AS Monaco Gambit 2-0 Team Unique

Team Empire 2-0 No Techies

Team Spirit 2-1 Natus Vincere

Virtus.pro remain perfect through Week 5 of competition in the CIS, essentially guaranteeing them a spot in the Major playoffs. Natus Vincere may have suffered their first loss of the season to Team Spirit, but they are still looking like a lock for the group stage.

AS Monaco Gambit, Team Spirit, and EXTREMUM are now fighting for the remaining wildcard spot for CIS. No Techies are already a lock for relegation to the lower division, with Team Unique and Team Empire now locked in a struggle to remain in the upper division.

Standings

North America

Week 5 match results

A-Team 2-0 5ManMidas

Quincy Crew 2-1 Evil Geniuses

Black N Yellow 2-0 SADBOYS

Quincy Crew 2-0 SADBOYS

Undying 2-1 4Zoomers

Quincy Crew defeated Evil Geniuses in the biggest match of the region for Week 5 to take the top spot in the standings and solidify themselves as the best team in North America. However, Quincy Crew still have to win one last match against Undying to ensure they get directly seeded to the Major playoffs.

Evil Geniuses and Undying are now in contention for the last Major for the region, with Evil Geniuses holding the advantage after their win over Undying in Week 3. Undying still has a shot at the Major if they can win over Quincy Crew in their Week 6 matchup to force tiebreakers, however.

Meanwhile, 5ManMidas is bound to be relegated to the lower division while SADBOYS, A-Team, and Black N Yellow will be fighting to stay in the upper division for next season.

Standings

South America

Week 5 match results

NoPing Esports 2-0 Team Unknown

Thunder Predator 2-0 EgoBoys

Infamous 2-0 Latam Defenders

NoPing Esports 2-0 Beastcoast

SG Esports 2-1 Team Unknown

Beastcoast suffered their first loss of the season to NoPing Esports but are still a lock for the Major playoffs. The last spot for South America is now being contested between Thunder Predator, SG Esports, and NoPing Esports.

Team Unknown no longer has a shot of making the Major, but they nonetheless remain in the upper division for next season, unlike the Latam Defenders who will be the first team to be relegated. Infamous and EgoBoys will now be fighting to avoid being that second team to be sent to the lower division.

Standings

For more esports news updates, visit https://yhoo.it/YahooEsportsSEA and check out Yahoo Esports Southeast Asia’s Facebook page.

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