Team Secret secure a top 3 finish over OG and are looking in good shape for TI

Closing off the Upper Bracket of ESL One Malaysia, Team Secret faced off against OG. The odds were pretty stacked against Secret, and people assumed OG would take the series. Especially with the relatively recent roster changes of Team Secret and the seemingly unstoppable force that is OG. However, Team Secret managed to pull through and take the series 2 - 1 against OG and secure a early spot in the upper bracket final.

In games 1 and 2, both teams surprisingly picked up Slark for themselves. Slark has been a long forgotten hero due to his rough laning stage and bat matchups. However in the new patch 7.32, he's been buffed with regards to his ultimate and his Pouce ability. OG first noticed this and picked it up in game 1 with their final pick. Yuragi's Echo Sabre, Midas, Aghs build worked wonders against Team Secret and OG took game 1 with it.

Game 2 also featured a 23rd Slark pick for Team Secret. Although Crystallis didn't follow the same item build and rather went for the common Diffusal Blade build, it worked wonders against OG. Especially since they picked up Medusa and a support Sven that were good for Slark. Team Secret ended the game 51 to 32 in the 55 minute game.

Other than the Slark pick, there also has been some other unique picks that have surfaced due to the patch. In game 1 we saw OG's ATF pick up a Centaur. Although we were all disappointed we didn't get to see his new uber aghs, it still landed OG game 1. We also got to see the return of Puppey's Treant Protector which didn't manage to have the same success.

Although its not the most rare of sights, we saw a Medusa picked up by OG in game 2. But what was the rare sight was support Sven, which OG's Chu picked up. Similar to Puppey's Treant in game 1, the unique picks didn't quite pan out for OG. But, the patch is still new, so who knows what other picks we'll see throughout the tourney. Game 3 had a pretty 7.31d draft, but we did see PA who is arguably the best winner of 7.32. The PA dominated the game and kept OG on the backfoot for most of the game.

Although OG lost the series, all hope isn't lost. OG is now in the Lower Bracket. They'll face off against the winner of Nigma Galaxy and Thunder Awaken. And if OG fans know one thing, its that OG can make a killer lower bracket run. On the other hand, Team Secret will face off against Aster in the upper bracket final.

You can see the full match breakdown on Dotabuff here. For more coverage of ESL One Malaysia 2022, stick around on Esports.gg!