Adobo Gang prevails: Team Secret serve Team Liquid a 2-0 stomp
It was the result everybody was hoping for, but nobody was expecting as Team Secret took on the star-studded Team Liquid in what many were expecting to be a one-sided matchup. Ultimately, it was a one-sided matchup, just in the opposite direction that 90 percent of VALORANT pick ’ems had expected of the series.
However, for Team Secret, today’s matchup was not about defying expectations, it was a simple matter of feeling that this is a series they should win.
“This is the result we are expecting actually,” Jessie "JessieVash" Cristy Cuyco told media during Team Secret’s press conference. “Even though 90 percent of the people in the world were expecting us to lose, I just feel we are a better team.”
Team Secret initially made headlines in the VALORANT community after qualifying for VCT Masters Berlin as the first seed from the APAC region. Unfortunately, visa issues delayed their international LAN debut to VCT Champions 2021, where the core of Team Secret reached the quarterfinals of the event. While they didn’t achieve the same success last year, the team still felt confident in their own abilities because of how long the core has played together compared to Team Liquid’s lineup of stars.
“They have been playing together for a short time,” JessieVash said. “They are just kids, it is so easy to read for me.”
This lack of team synergy was evident for Team Liquid right from the start. On Icebox, a predominantly Attack focused map, Team Liquid was unable to build any momentum on Icebox and only grabbed two rounds in that first half.
LET'S GO ADOBO GANG 🇵🇭#LabanSecret #ItLiesWithin pic.twitter.com/gYZtB6hvmO
— Team Secret (@teamsecret) February 22, 2023
While Liquid was able to regain some semblance of control defending against Team Secret’s initiations, the 10-2 first-half deficit did not allow any wiggle room for Team Liquid as they ultimately lost map one 13-8.
Things continued to look disjointed for Team Liquid on Fracture, where Team Secret was easily able to read all of Team Liquid’s strategies in the first half. Team Secret shot up to a 9-3 scoreline on map two before closing the series out 13-7 and sending the star-studded EMEA lineup packing.
Team Secret’s JessieVash and Adrian "invy" Reyes were standouts for the Filipino team throughout their series against Team Liquid as their combination of utility and smart map play helped them dismantle Team Liquid’s natural fragging talents.
Team Secret will now look to continue their strong form against EMEA’s Natus Vincere, who is viewed as one of the favorites to win VCT LOCK//IN in its entirety.
3AM IN PHILIPPINES. WE'RE STILL UP.
— Team Secret (@teamsecret) February 22, 2023
Shout out to our fans for staying up so late! 🫶#LabanSecret #ItLiesWithin pic.twitter.com/6jOuhDaoQT
Once again, Team Secret is viewed as the underdogs, this time against tournament frontrunners Natus Vincere. However, in the winner's press conference, Team Secret head coach WarBird believes that the team has not fully shown what they are truly capable of. It is something that he and Team Secret feel excited to show off in their upcoming matchup.
“I think there is still a lot of our strat book that hasn’t been shown. I think there will be changes in how we play,” WarBirds said. “A lot of our play today was protocol based and I think there is a lot of depth in our strat book.”
VCT LOCK//IN São Paulo’s Group Omega has officially begun as Pacific’s Team Secret has become the first Group Omega team to book their spot in the round-of-16. Their match against Natus Vincere will take place on Feb. 25, 2023, at 9 am PT.
Meanwhile, Group Omega will return tomorrow as EMEA’s Team Vitality takes on Pacific’s Global Esports. That match will begin at 9 am PT. You can watch the action unfold on VCT's Twitch and YouTube channels.
Sage got his start in esports as a volunteer writer in 2016 for esports organization, Dignitas. Since then, he has continued to work on his craft as a journalist and reporter for a number of established esports publications, such as esports.gg, Unikrn, Akshon Esports, Howla, The Player’s Lobby, Nerd Street Gamers, and most recently Dot Esports. Now, as a member of Esports Illustrated’s content team, Sage’s primary duties are centered around creating groundbreaking written and video content about the esports industry that impacts the community in a meaningful way. Sage graduated from Rutgers University with a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology and Informatics. There, he was a member of the Rutgers Esports Executive Board, both as the head of the fighting game community and a videographer/photographer for the Content team.