By Ma. Andrea Jermaine Del Mar I January 20 , 2022
By Ma. Andrea Jermaine Del Mar I January 20 , 2022
REPRESENTING Southeast Asia for the Valorant Champions 2021 in Berlin, Team Secret which composed of Filipino players: Jessie Cristy Cuyco (JessieVash), Jayvee Paguirigan (DubsteP), Jim Timbreza (BORKUM), Kevin Te (Dispenser), and Riley Go (Witz) fought against different teams from NA (North America) and EU (Europe) that lasted from Dec. 1 to Dec. 12, 2021 and was streamed through various streaming and social media platforms such as Twitch, Facebook, and YouTube.
Recovery to Victory
Last Dec. 2, Team Secret’s first event was against Gambit Esports. Team Secret won the first match with a score of 13-6 in Icebox and DubsteP was given the MVP title during the match. However, they failed to secure the remaining matches with a score of 0-13 in Breeze and a score of 6-13 in Bind. Gambit Esports took their first win with an overall result of 2-1, making Ayaz Akhmetshin the team’s MVP. Team Secret’s first loss led them to battling with other teams who also lost in their first round.
After their first downfall, Team Secret played a match against the Japanese team Crazy Raccoon last Dec. 5. This round proved the determination and skills of Team Secret to bounce back and gain their first win with a result of 2-0, achieving a score of 13-5 on their first match in Split and 13-2 on their second match in Haven. This resulted in eliminating Crazy Raccoon completely from the championship run.
Meanwhile, last Dec. 8, Team Secret made their way to the quarterfinals after defeating Team Vikings, with a result of 2-0. Team Secret commanded the first round with a win of 13-6 in Haven and finished the game with an ending score of 13-7 in Icebox. The team found it difficult to widen the score gap between Team Vikings throughout the match but they persevered and secured a spot for the quarterfinals on the following day.
The Secret is Out
The tournament got more heated as it featured a match between Team Secret and Team Acend last Dec. 9. Team Secret failed to control the first half of their match with attempts of winning, and the opposing team dominated the game with a score gap of 8-4. Despite the efforts of Team Secret, Team Acend dominated two maps of the game with an ending score of 13-6 in Breeze, earning a spot in the semifinals which put an end to the journey of Team Secret and the battle in Berlin.
Unfortunately, Team Secret wasn’t able to make their way to the semifinals and cut their mission short. However, they still showed their endurance and skills throughout the tournament by being placed at a high rank. The Valorant Champions 2021 introduced 16 teams that competed for the lion’s share of the $1 million (P50 million) prize pool. Team Secret managed to rank 5th among 16 teams that competed during the Valorant Champions 2021. Moreover, Team Secret took home $40,000 (P2 million) from the prize pool.
The real secret is accepting defeat and acknowledging your hard work despite the undesired results. The journey is not yet finished for Team Secret. In a tweet by the official Team Secret Twitter account, the team acknowledged and appreciated their fans for the support they received throughout the tournament, saying: “We came as underdogs and made history by defying expectations. To our fans, thank you for such incredible support. This is a bittersweet ending but we hope that we made you proud. This is only the beginning for us”.
Volume 27 | Issue 4