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Team Secret bids Valorant Champions hopes goodbye

Sports | Esports

Team Secret bids Valorant Champions hopes goodbye

By Reynald I. Magallon

Team Secret bid its hopes of making it to the year’s Valorant Champions in Los Angeles goodbye after falling to Japanese team ZETA Division, 3-1, in the Last Chance Qualifier finals in Sangam Colosseum in Seoul, South Korea over the weekend.

*Team Secret (Riot Games photo)

*
The all-Filipino crew led by veteran Jayvee “Dubstep” Paguirigan left everything it had to fight for the spot in Valorant’s crowning tournament but just couldn’t get the job done against the Japanese team. Although Team Secret managed to recover from a tough 14-12 overtime loss in the first map in Fracture with a 13-9 triumph in Ascent, the Filipinos found little answers to the aggression and map pressure from ZETA to claim the last two maps and formally punch their tickets to the Champions. ZETA went off to a blazing 10-2 start in the first half of the third map in Split before shrugging off some slight resistance from Team Secret to claim a 13-7 win. The fourth map in Lotus saw a back-and-forth action with ZETA taking a slim 7-5 lead in the first half. The Japanese however avoided complications as they closed out the map with a strong 6-1 finishing kick for a 13-6 win. It was a painful end for Team Secret, which now missed the last two Champions after finishing in the 5th to 8th places in the inaugural Champions in 2021. Team Secret just couldn't sustain the impressive start that saw them get back at Korean team Gen.G – the same team that eliminated them in the Pacific League – in the upper bracket semifinals. Team Secret scored a 2-0 sweep over Gen.G to march into the upper bracket finals where it would suffer a 2-0 loss against ZETA. The two teams however found themselves at cross roads once more, this time, for the Champions spot after Team Secret scored a 3-1 victory over Gen.G in their rematch in the lower bracket finals.

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