Autumn Brawl: victory vs Team Secret
NAVI.GG.BET move forth!
NAVI.GG.BET fought with 
Team Secret in a Bo3 at Autumn Brawl. The outcome of the series was 2:1 our way, as we move further into the event!
Game 1 - Natus Vincere [0:1] Team Secret
NAVI.GG.BET
Chuvash
SoNNeikO
.Ark
Crystallize
Blizzy
Team Secret
Dendi
Nisha
YapzOr
Puppey
Zai
The first game started off not too well for us - we gave up 2 kills relatively early. Top lane saw a lot of aggression coming in from Team Secret, as they tried to secure Drow Ranger, played by Dendi, as much space as possible. Overall, the laning stage was not going our way, as the rotations from Io and Ogre Magi could hardly secure as the same dominance as those coming from Team Secret. Our team fight still left a lot to be desired, as we still needed a bit of levels and items to properly fight.
As the game went on, we were increasingly struggling to take good fights. Even though we were getting a few kills here and there, the initiative remained on the side of Team Secret. 20 minutes in, NAVI lost a fight in the midlane, which immediately allowed the Dire to take the first Roshan of the game, and the towers followed.
Just a few minutes later, Team Secret had another good fight, and that allowed them to approach our high ground without much difficulty. We lost the bottom and the mid lane almost immediately, and the opponents retreated to regroup. NAVI wanted to have a decisive fight, but turning the game around with 25k net worth disadvantage was a hard feat. Even though the Chronosphere was good, we still lacked damage and survivability. GGWP, as the first game goes the way of Team Secret.
Game 2 - Natus Vincere [1:1] Team Secret
NAVI.GG.BET
Chuvash
SoNNeikO
Blizzy
Crystallize
Alchemist
Team Secret
-
Nisha
-
Puppey
-
YapzOr
Dendi
Zai
The game 2 kicked off with a first blood our way in the bottom lane. Our Alchemist decided to retreat into the jungle fairly soon, unwilling to contest last hits against the Laser. So Tinker was left unchecked, not getting much contest. Other lanes were doing relatively okay, with the cores of NAVI getting some farm. Teams kept trading hits, but Secret had the upper hand in terms of getting the early kills. However, with a few levels kicking in, we managed to retaliate, claiming a couple of kills for ourselves.
Slowly but surely, Alchemist got his farm, making it to the 1st place in terms of net worth. A bad fight in the top lane allowed Secret to go straight for the Roshan yet again, with the Aegis for the Drow. As the Dire engaged NAVI near our T2 mid lane, we were ready to take that fight, as Team Secret got wiped completely. However, this fight solidified our position on the map just a little bit, as there were lots of fights, and not all of them were going our way. One of those resulted in Team Secret being able to take the mid T3.
Teams were trying to balance between fighting, farming and pushing. By 30 minutes, both teams were about dead equal in terms of gold and kills. A fight near top Dire Bounty rune resulted in 3 heroes dead on the side of Secret, and NAVI went for the Roshan almost immediately - Aegis for Ark. Another fight went the same way, as Overgrowth+Supernova combo did a lot of work. We went on the aggressive, finding fights and pickoffs. Secret were losing some control around the map.
With a pickoff on Drow, NAVI decided to go for the third Roshan. Crystallize was granted the second life; unfortunately, it wasn't really put to good use - Clinkz died near Secret bottom T3, and we had to disengage without actually accomplishing much. As the Dire went on their own offensive, we turned the fight around, killing all but Tinker. That enabled NAVI to take the mid T3. More fight happened, more buybacks have been used up by Secret. The game stalled, though, as neither team was able to push decisively.
Another Roshan the way of NAVI, but yet again, Secret held. Time after time, we were not getting the objectives; ultimately, as our Alchemist died, Secret went for the Roshan. The game slowed down yet again, until we managed to get the next Roshan, which was the successful one. We caught 2 supports off guard, and then the cores followed, even diving the fountain once. We claimed all the barracks and retreated - Mega Creeps. The decisive fight in the base saw us give it our all - we finally take the game, after 70 long minutes.
Game 3 - Natus Vincere [2:1] Team Secret
NAVI.GG.BET
Blizzy-
SoNNeikO
Chuvash-
Crystallize
.Ark
Team Secret
-
Dendi
zai
YapzOr-
Puppey
Nisha
The decider game started with the first blood on enemy Drow Ranger. Both our side lanes were going decently well, while in mid, Sniper somewhat struggled in terms of CS, yet it was still manageable. As Assassinate came online, Ark shifted to the top lane, and NAVI went on the offensive, taking down the top T1. We were doing rather well, establishing a 4k gold lead by 10 minutes, and keeping all our towers.
The fights kept unraveling, and by 16 minutes, NAVI managed to take down 4 heroes of Secret. That opened a window of opportunity to take down the last T2 tower of the Dire side, which was situated in the midlane. Having done that, the Radiant went for the first Roshan of the game, with the Aegis for Sniper. NAVI smoked up and went for a gank on Medusa, and transformed that advantage into a T3 mid and the barracks. It didn't take us long to start another fight and take the series 2:1, moving forth.
