Team Secret starts VCT 2023 Pacific League Playoffs with sweep against ZETA DIVISION
Team Secret started the VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) 2023: Pacific League Playoffs with a 2-0 sweep against ZETA DIVISION.
ONE STEP CLOSER TO TOKYO.
2-0 for the Adobo Gang, GG WP @zetadivision 🤝#LabanSecret #ItLiesWithin pic.twitter.com/HbXNAkdB82
— Team Secret (@teamsecret) May 19, 2023
Although the Secret-ZETA series ended in a 2-0 sweep, the two games went to overtime as the last Japanese representatives in the tournament commendably held out against Team Secret.
“Actually, ZETA is a very great team. They don’t give up easily,” Jayvee “DubsteP” Paguirigan said in the post-match interview. “They’re the type of team who won’t give up… they devote their hearts so much,” he continued.
During their group stage matchup, Team Secret originally fell to the might of ZETA DIVISION as they lost to the best Japanese team 2-1. As such, DubsteP was thankful the game did not go to a third game as he thinks that they could’ve lost the series if it did.
“I think ZETA and the third map is their strength. Like, if they go to the third map they automatically win the series,” DubsteP shared.
Two Overtimes at Haven
Secret claimed the nerve-wracking first game on Haven, which went to two overtimes, 15-14.
Secret’s first-half dominance started with back-to-back 4Ks for Jessie “JessieVash” Cuyco and Adrian Jiggs “invy” Reyes. Moreover, JessieVash was top fragging while deathless for four rounds before eventually succumbing to Yuuma “Dep” Hisamoto in Round 5.
After a winless start, ZETA then called a time-out on Round 6 which resulted in back-to-back wins to get on the board and end the half with three rounds to their name.
Despite the staggering 9-3 gap, things fell apart for Team Secret come their attacking half. The Adobo Gang was wrecked by Dep’s Operator as he lived up to his moniker as the “First Kill King”. To add more salt to the wound, ZETA would be 9-3’ing Team Secret on this half to force overtime.
During the first overtime, Team Secret lost their defensive round as their defensive supremacy on the map was nowhere in sight. Fortunately, after failing to activate it in the previous round, Jim “BORKUM” Timbreza’s BORKUM Time extended their lifeline, clutching in Round 26 to force yet another overtime. Then, the second overtime saw Team Secret’s Jeremy “Jremy” Cabrera’s time to shine as he secured the map point in their defensive round and JessieVash eventually finished the job in their next attacking round to secure the first game for themselves.
Another Overtime at Ascent
Just like the first game, the second game on Ascent continued the competitiveness from both teams with Team Secret coming out on top after yet another overtime game.
Secret started the game by winning the first two rounds, with DubsteP showcasing his skills on the Marshal by recording three kills in Round 2. However, ZETA would tie it up 2-2 and it would become a neck-and-neck game as both teams kept it tied for the most part.
After ZETA tied it up, 8-8, in Round 16, Team Secret called for a timeout in Round 17 that resulted in a 4-round win streak to secure double digits first and then the game point. However, ZETA’s indomitable spirit wasn’t going to allow Team Secret to win just like that and proceeded to get back on them with a 4-round win streak of their own to extend the series in overtime.
In overtime, JessieVash initially lost the Odin battle against his ZETA counterpart Koji “Laz” Ushida. Luckily, Jremy was there to save the game, swooping down with his Phantom and mowing ZETA on the lane to allow the rest of his team to clean it up and win the map point. With one more round to take the series, DubsteP ended the game with a 4K, poetically ending the round by killing his Jett counterpart Dep and finishing the game with a 14-12 win on Ascent.
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With their win over ZETA DIVISION, Team Secret moves up in the upper bracket to face DRX in their next matchup. Meanwhile, ZETA DIVISION drops down to the lower bracket wherein another loss would mean there would not be any Japanese teams to represent the home crowd in the upcoming VCT Masters in Tokyo.
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