MATUMBAMAN, Liquid take down Secret as DPC goes on holiday break

Team Liquid continued their dominance over the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) Western European regional league Division I as they defeated Team Secret in the marquee match of the final day of the circuit this year on Wednesday (22 December) before it goes on a holiday break.

Lasse "MATUMBAMAN" Urpalainen led the way for Liquid as they scored a crucial 2-1 win against his and Ludwig "zai" Wåhlberg's former team that extended their DPC win streak to five-straight games.

The series started with Secret in control of a slow early game that had Michal "Nisha" Jankowski's Luna zoom to the top of the net worth chart. However, Liquid quickly took the reins once they hit their midgame power spike behind MATUMBAMAN's carry Bristleback and Michael "miCKe" Vu's Invoker.

Even as Liquid dominated in team fights and exerted full map control, Secret managed to put up a stubborn defense of their base behind Nisha's Luna and stall things out to almost the hour mark.

Liquid were eventually able to overwhelm Secret with their gold advantage, which they used in crucial buybacks that allowed them to outlast their opponents in a decisive clash for Roshan.

Liquid took the game one win after 59 minutes of action, with miCKe notching a series-high 19 kills and 19 assists against two deaths while MATUMBAMAN pitched in with 14 kills and 14 assists of his own against two deaths.

Secret bounced back and dominated game two behind a stellar showing from Nisha on Templar Assassin and Sumail "SumaiL" Hassan on Void Spirit, forcing Liquid to call GG at the 41-minute mark and pushing the series to a decider.

Secret were once again in control early on in game three, as Nisha's carry Shadow Fiend topped the net worth chart while SumaiL on Storm Spirit and Daryl Koh "iceiceice" Pei Xiang on Doom controlled the early teamfights.

Liquid managed to claw their way back into the game behind zai's Beastmaster, whose relentless split-pushing kept Secret from marching into their base.

With their opponents' momentum halted, Liquid rallied behind MATUMBAMAN's carry Slardar to turn things around. Despite playing an unconventional carry hero, MATUMBAMAN's choice to build Moon Shard and Monkey King Bar allowed him to stunlock and outscale his counterparts.

Nisha remained the only threat for Liquid as the rest of Secret's lineup started falling behind. They wisely focused the Shadow Fiend down in teamfights, eventually forcing the GG call from Secret after 52 minutes.

MATUMBAMAN had a game-high 11 kills and 12 assists against four deaths as Liquid secured the 2-1 victory over one of their biggest rivals in the Western European regional league.

With their victory, Liquid sit atop the standings with a 5-0 record and are virtually guaranteed to secure their league's top seed and a direct seed to the Playoffs of the upcoming Major. Liquid only has two matches left to play against Alliance and Nigma Galaxy.

Meanwhile, Secret slide to fifth place in the standings off of a 2-3 record, with two of those previous losses coming at the hands of OG and Nigma Galaxy.

While Secret are currently on the outside looking in when it comes to a Major spot, they are not out of the running just yet as their two remaining matches will be coming against former Division II teams Team Tickles and Coolguys.

The 2021-2022 DPC season will go on a temporary hiatus for the holidays starting 21 December and will resume on 5 January 2022.

Team Liquid Dota 2 roster:

1. Lasse "MATUMBAMAN" Urpalainen

2. Michael "miCKe" Vu

3. Ludwig "zai" Wåhlberg

4. Samuel "Boxi" Svahn

5. Aydin "iNSaNiA" Sarkohi

Team Secret Dota 2 roster:

1. Michal "Nisha" Jankowski

2. Sumail "SumaiL" Hassan

3. Daryl Koh "iceiceice" Pei Xiang

4. Yazied "YapzOr" Jaradat

5. Clement "Puppey" Ivanov

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