Team Secret relishes chance to play in front of home crowd

MANILA, Philippines – Last Sunday, Team Secret was finally able to lift a trophy in front of a home crowd after winning the Asia-Pacific Predator League for Valorant. The team, whose Valorant achievements date back to 2021, have been winning Valorant tournaments online, with Valorant esports starting to welcome fans just last year.

"Before, puro online lang yung tournaments. Ngayon, finally na meet namin sila face-to-face," said team captain Jessie "JessieVash" Cuyco.

The Filipino crowd, numbering to around 15,000 according to tournament organizers, motivated the all-Filipino team to get their first win in front of a home crowd.

"’Di ko inexpect na sobrang rami. Sobrang nakakataba ng puso na all-out support yung Filipinos sa amin," said Jim "BORKUM" Timbreza.

"Sobrang malaking effect siya kasi nakakahype siya. Ginagamit ko siya as motivation sa laro," added Adrian "invy" Reyes.

It was hype that was intensified as Team Secret managed to secure a kill with a knife, a strategy the team is well-known for and that Filipino fans have dubbed “Tondo Gaming”.

Reyes added, "Isa sa motto namin is ‘Tondo Gaming’. We're known for that. Sobrang sarap na sa Filipino crowd [nagawa namin], alam nila kasi yung meaning."

Team Secret is set to return to the Valorant Champions Tour next month in hopes of reaching Valorants Masters Madrid in March, an international tournament they have yet to compete in. They had secured a slot back in 2021, when the team was still under the banner of BREN Esports, but due to issues with travel documents, the team eventually had to back out of the tournament.

Last year, Team Secret failed to reach Masters after finishing fifth to sixth in VCT Pacific while they stumbled at the grand finals of the VCT last chance qualifiers. This prevented them from reaching the global stage once more.

Heading into the new season with a win in the Asia-Pacific Predator League, the team is in high hopes of their coming 2024 run, especially with the successful debut of new member, Noel "NDG" De Guia, who joined the team last October.

"[The tournament was] a good experience for us, debut ni NDG yung nangyari. Dito namin na test yung chemistry namin as a team and kita naman po from the group stages until the finals [how we played]. Confident kami heading into the new season," said Timbreza.