Team Secret falls short against Talon Esports for Champions slot

“Adobo Gang” Team Secret clashed against Thai team Talon Esports in tonight’s VCT Pacific Stage 2 Knockout Round match. For this series, Talon Esports debuted rookie Papaphat “primmie” Sriprapha instead of Thanachart “Surf” Rungapajaratkul.

Talon Esports built their lead on their map pick, Lotus. Their 7-5 half quickly grew to 10-5 in the second half. Team Secret hit back and attempted a comeback, but Talon denied their hopes and closed out the map 13-11.

Team Secret surprised many with the Abyss pick – the first professional game on VALORANT’s newest map. The Filipino squad could not find a lead in the first half, which ended 6-6. Talon ended this map with a similar 13-11 score despite Secret’s efforts.

This win qualifies Talon Esports for the upcoming VCT Champions Seoul later this year. They take the last Pacific spot and join DRX, Paper Rex, and Gen.G Esports in representing the region. Team Secret bows out of the competition as this loss ends their competitive year and will return. 

Reflecting on the loss, Team Secret coach Tim “dummy” Olson says that on Defense, he “wouldn’t change a thing.” He pointed out the team’s mistakes, saying, “We were shaky on attack… on Abyss, our post-plants became disjointed. There was a lack of cohesion on the post-plants that normally never happens.”

READ: Details you need to know for VCT Pacific Ascension 2023

Both dummy and Jessie “JessieVash” Cuyco talked about the Abyss pick. “We were confident on [Abyss]. I still believe we’re good on that map,” says dummy. “We prepared a lot [for Abyss] and we had good scrim results on the map,” adds JessieVash.

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