Team Secret’s road to Dota 2’s The International 2022 was challenging, but it’s even more difficult this year. After placing second in TI11, Secret was relegated from division one and hasn’t participated in a Valve Major since. There’s still a chance for Secret though, and Clement “Puppey” Ivanov has jokingly declared war against all odds.
Despite returning to division one of the Western European Dota Pro Circuit, it took Secret a week to win their first series of the season. Losing versus top teams like Liquid, Gaimin Gladiators, and OG means Secret is most likely out of the upcoming Major, which hurts their almost non-existing TI chances.
After acknowledging Secret’s recent pattern of improving their placement in TIs, Puppey highlighted the fact that getting to TI in 2023 would be the hardest compared to the team’s previous attempts.
Related: Team Secret back on track after near-undefeated Dota Pro Circuit season
“I went to [division] two, and I’ve never been to [division] two,” Puppey said. “That means it’s really hard to get to TI, and if I get to TI, they’re fucked.”
Following this statement, Puppey explained who he was referring to with the “they” in his initial statement as the panelists burst into laughter. Puppey blamed the “gambling gods” and then switched his aim towards Valve, because everyone would bet on Secret to win TI12 if they were to make it.
Puppey’s mass-betting prediction would “explode the whole world and the banks,” which were also enough reasons for Puppey to understand the difficult season they’ve had this year in the DPC.
Secret has been improving its TI results since 2018. After placing fifth in TI8, Secret went on to finish fourth, third, and second in the following events. This series of results made Dota 2 fans speculate that Secret could win it all if they were to make it to TI12.
As Puppey said in his interview, getting to TI12 won’t be a walk in the park for Secret, as the team will have to go through regional qualifiers, which they failed last year. Secret secured a last-minute ticket through the Last Chance Qualifiers in 2022, which may not take place this season.
