Team Secret drops to lower bracket of VCT 2023 Pacific League Playoffs
Team Secret dropped to the lower bracket of the VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) 2023: Pacific League Playoffs after losing to DRX 2-1 in the upper semifinals.
Pighati. So close yet so far.
We'll be back tomorrow for our Lower Bracket run. GG WP @DRX_VS 🤝#LabanSecret #ItLiesWithin pic.twitter.com/zBgTdo9pa5
— Team Secret (@teamsecret) May 20, 2023
Previously, Team Secret was the only team in the Pacific League that was able to take down then-undefeated DRX during the group stage. Going into the series, Team Secret coach Evan “Warbirds” Olzem divulged that they had the same preparations for DRX just like in their previous matchup.
“We basically did the same level of prep for [DRX] as last time,” coach Warbirds revealed in a post-match interview.
Despite their preparation, DRX was the better team during their playoff series, reverse sweeping the Filipino representatives to clinch a spot in the upcoming VCT Masters in Tokyo.
A+ on A-Site
Team Secret performed well during the first game in Haven, a map they themselves picked—which would’ve been unthinkable to do so back in the day as it was a DRX stronghold.
The team only had a simple plan during their attacking half: abuse A-site. Their A-site conquests were so effective they made DRX look clueless and forced the South Korean team to use both of their timeouts in the first half alone.
For this game, Jessie “JessieVash” Cuyco was proclaimed as the key player as he basically hard carried the team, finishing the first half with an astounding 16/4/7 and ending the game with twenty-two kills and nine assists on a 1.57 rating. Meanwhile, both Adrian Jiggs “invy” Reyes and Jim “BORKUM” Timbreza were great supporting casts as they combined for 35 assists for the game, with Invy recording 21/17/17 and BORKUM ending up with 10/14/18.
Destroyed by an Awakened DR(X)agon
Despite their fantastic performance in Game 1, Team Secret tragically lost to DRX in the next two games of the series. Secret’s performance in the last two games can be summarized as missing both a lot of shots and chances.
The second game on Split saw an undeterred DRX, mercilessly punishing Team Secret for their initial beatdown. An angry Yu “BuZz” Byung-chul (유병철) recorded a whopping 423 ACS on a 27/9/4 KDA to help their team squash Team Secret 13-5.
Sad to say, the third and final game of the Team Secret-DRX playoff series ended worse for the Filipino squad, losing to the South Korean juggernauts 13-4. The game was also Lim You “lenne” Xiang Lionel’s VCT Pacific League debut, subbing in for Invy as he became the Gekko for Team Secret’s Bind composition.
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As Team Secret falls to the lower bracket, the Adobo Gang needs to survive their upcoming matchup against Gen.G, a team they lost to during the group stage, where another loss would result in their elimination from the tournament. Meanwhile, DRX will be accompanied by Paper Rex in Japan as both teams have booked their tickets to the VCT Masters Tokyo.
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