Photo courtesy of ESL
After a thrilling five-game series, Team Secret overpowered and outlasted ViCi Gaming 3:2 to take home the ESL One Hamburg 2018 championship title and trophy.
ESL One Hamburg 2018 has come to a dramatic end, a finish worthy of the spectacular production and event that it turned out to be. Although the event wasn't on the DPC list, it was no less exciting and filled with top quality content and performances. In fact, it seems that ESL has won over the hearts of many fans and has set the bar and standards quite high for LAN events to follow.
The games were noteworthy with upsets, comebacks, heartbreak and experimental drafts/strategies. To top it all off, the grand finals were set between two teams that had gone 1:1 in the group stage against each other and were already poised to be an all-out battle.
ESL One Hamburg 2018 Grand Finals: Team Secret 3:2 ViCi Gaming
The first match looked like Team Secret had the game in the bag right from the start, but a slip about 35 minutes in for the Europeans would sent them tumbling downhill as Vici Gaming capitalized on their advantage and started to reach out for control. Things were just slightly out of their grasp, however, as Team Secret's resolve was stronger and they regained their footing and advantage for the first victory.
The second match showcased fantastic drafts and team synergy from both sides, proving how evenly matched these two teams were. After an hour of play, ViCi Gaming had tied the series and leveled the playing field. The third match was all ViCi Gaming's from start to finish as the Chinese team then claimed the series lead and were edging closer to the title.
Once again, Team Secret was not about to give up so easily and a flawless performance by Micha? "Nisha" Jankowski on Terrorblade would tie the series up once again and force the fifth and final game.
In a fantastic display of dominance and perfect game by Ludwig "zai" Wåhlberg, Team Secret controlled the last game with finesse as ViCi Gaming started to unravel.
With the win, Team Secret seized their second LAN title of the new season - the first being PVP esports championship earlier during the month and are looking to be a serious contender for the championship title at the Kuala Lumpur Major next month.
ESL One Hamburg Prize Distribution:
1st place: $125,000 - Team Secret
2nd place: $65,000 - Vici Gaming
3rd place: $35,000 - Virtus.pro
4th place: $20,000 - paiN Gaming
5/6th place: $12,000 - Evil Geniuses/Team Aster
7/8th place: $7,500 - compLexity Gaming/Forward Gaming
9/10th place: $5,000 - Alliance/Ninjas in Pyjamas
11/12th place: $3,000 - Mineski/EVOS Esports
