Team Secret captain and the inaugural The International 1 champion, Puppey, is at it once again. Gathering his troops amid the chaotic albeit continuous heartbreaks year-after-year, and assembling a world class roster to compete at the highest level - all but to conquer the Aegis - one more time.
His sole purpose to keep competing even after a decade is admirable; a quality that only a few possess, the reason being his desire to bring the coveted Aegis of the Immortal to his own backyard.
Puppey has proven time and again, through sheer intellect, his ability to win trophies over the years. Finding diamonds in the rough is Puppey’s speciality and one of the many things he excels at. Rallying his teammates and commandeering them to victory is another of his forte.
Difficult road to success
Puppey is synonymous with success and yet success has its own way of eluding the Estonian during the hour of need. Basking in glory and lifting trophies across numerous top tier events has been Puppey’s mantra but the same isn’t applicable to the grandest event of them all -- The International Dota 2 Championships.
Winner at TI1, runners up at TI2 and TI3, and then a slew of dismal performances at remaining TI’s is what comes to mind when thinking of Puppey. From being dominant during the first half of the year to flopping during the later half, especially at TI, has been Secret’s routine.
From tournament favourites to chokers -- that’s Team Secret for you, however, much to their credit, TI10 was different. We saw a different side of the team. A side that was more stable as compared to their previous iterations.
A unit that brought stability to the table with brimming potential to go all the way. After many years, Secret finally had their best run at TI: a third place finish. Despite ending up third, Secret proved their critiques wrong and walked away with their heads held high although in a heart wrenching fashion.
They lost to the eventual TI10 Champions; Team Spirit.
As they say, “Change is the only constant” and Secret are in the midst of reorganizing their roster with the departure of two of their members; Matumbaman and Zai to Team Liquid. The empty void has been filled by men of equal stature and prowess; iceiceice and Sumail.
The Troll and the King are back in action
Sending a strong message across the Dota realm, Puppey is leaving no stone unturned to build a roster to rule the next DPC season. The long list of accolades of the roster signals the beginning of a new era for Team Secret looking forward to conquering it all -- once and for all.
This roster not only looks extremely strong on paper but also emanates the feeling of the “X” factor being prevalent -- something Team Secret has been missing all along.
Team Secret is most likely to win TI11. Puppey will most likely and finally quench his thirst for the Aegis, and punch anyone that comes in between.
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