KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — It was a dream grand final for the home crowd at a packed Sunway Velocity Mall as two Malaysian squads, Team Secret and LGD Gaming Malaysia battled for the crown at the Honor of Kings Invitational Season 2 championships.
Tensions were high as the best-of-five final match came down to the last game with both teams tied at 2-2. Team Secret had taken an early 2-0 lead, but was unable to close it, allowing LGD Gaming Malaysia to take the next three games in the row for the win.
For its victory, LGD Gaming Malaysia will bring home US$100,000, while Team Secret gets US$40,000. The former defeated each of its opponents on the way to the grand finals; meanwhile, Team Secret had to face off against Season 1 champions Vivo Keyd Stars of Brazil in the semi-finals—they won that battle 3-0.
Epic final match
In the first game, Team Secret were behind in both kills and gold, but made a great play to secure the victory, catching LGD Gaming Malaysia off guard as they were out of position while trying to kill the Tempest Dragon.
With the first game in hand, Team Secret took both the gold and kill lead in the second game more easily. A crucial fight at the midlane saw LGD Gaming Malaysia losing two heroes, before Team Secret pushed into the base to take out the crystal and win.
The third game saw LGD Gaming Malaysia rallying to secure a gold lead. This allowed them to push into the base easily for a win. The same strategy proved successful again for the fourth game of the series.
With the tournament championship on the line, LGD Gaming Malaysia came out strong in the final game, shutting down Team Secret in style.
LGD’s MusangKing also took home the Finals MVP award, winning an Infinix GT 20 Pro for his efforts.
Neck-to-neck battles along the way
Season 1 champions Vivo Keyd Stars bowed out at the third place alongside fellow Brazil team Loops Esports, after losing to both Malaysian teams Team Secret and LGD Gaming Malaysia, respectively, in the semi-finals. The Brazilians will still get a cool US$25,000 for their efforts, though.
Vivo Keyd Stars dominated Indonesian squad Kagendra in style in the first round of the playoffs, going 3-0. In the third game, Vivo Keyd Stars bagged four kills and lost one at the four-minute mark.
However, they met their match in Team Secret, who dominated the S1 champions 3-0. Vivo Keyd Stars managed to hold them off for almost 20 minutes before a fight at the bottom jungle decided it all.
VKS.Niap was too far away to help his teammates and Team Secret took out three of VKS, then destroying the base Crystal moments later.
Loops Esports also showed their skills, dominating Impunity in their playoff matches especially in the first game, where the team wiped the Myanmar squad at the eight-minute mark. They then scored another Ace at the 10-minute point, ending the game with a 13-0 kill record.
Onward to Saudi Arabia
With this victory, LGD Gaming Malaysia will be heading to the Esports World Cup taking place at Riyadh, where they will be battling the best teams from around the world at the Honor of Kings Midseason Invitational.
Expect to see the top eight teams there, including Team Secret, Loops Esports, Vivo Keyd Stars, Impunity, All Gamers Global, Team Vitality, and Kagendra. They will be facing China’s all-star KPL Dream Team, as well as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia qualifier winner Team Falcons.
Weibo Gaming Malaysia won the Last Chance Qualifier to come through, and BOOM Esports（Philippines）and Rex Regum Qeon (Indonesia) will play in a SEA Showdown to see who will make it to this next stage.
The Midseason Invitational takes place between August 1 and 4, with a massive US$3 million prize pool up for grabs. The winner takes US$1 million and a slot at the season finale Honor of Kings Invitational Championship 2024.
