Cover-Credits:
Team Secret, the team that achieved second place at The International 11, went through various roster changes, with the most recent being Saieful "Fbz" Ilham replacing Miroslav "BOOM" Bičan. The team is competing at the Dreamleague Season 20 and managed to surprise fans after winning 2-0 against Tundra Esports and being tied for 1st place in Group A. In a post-match interview that sparked both intrigue and amusement, Clement "Puppey" Ivanov, the veteran captain of Team Secret, shed light on the discovery process behind the acquisition of the team’s new offlaner. Puppey playfully shared his penchant for playing with Southeast Asian (SEA) players and finding SEA talent, such as Armel "Armel" Tabios.
Puppey Jokes About Playing in SEA and FBZ's Emergence
In the post-match interview, Puppey provided a glimpse into the intriguing process that led to the discovery of Fbz.
“You know I’ve been frequently playing with the SEA players. So it’s a thing that I will constantly tap my mind into, to get some SEA dogs in my games you know. To be fair he’s a very good offlaner, and he was available, and since I was watching and looking for offlaners, he was kind of one of the better choices and I just went with it,”
It should be noted that Puppey is playfully and jokingly using the words “SEA dogs” in this context. He essentially shows his fondness for playing alongside them in his games. Recognizing Fbz's exceptional offlane skills and availability, Puppey identified him as one of the top choices during his search for a skilled offlaner, ultimately leading to the player joining Team Secret’s roster.
Puppey also went on to explain why BOOM was replaced in Team Secret, saying that he was not an offlane player, to begin with.
“At least the simple explanation is that BOOM is not an offlane player, right? And we didn’t really get anybody on the offlane that would fit the description or basically feel good enough for us to think that we will win TI. I like BOOM as a guy a lot and he’s really nice to work with but he wasn’t that confident on his offlane I would say, not exactly lack confidence, but maybe he just lacked a lot of tricks which usually offlaners do have and maybe it’s like a natural thing that offlaners have.” he added.
Puppey's jovial remarks during the post-match interview offered a lighthearted perspective on the process behind discovering Fbz, Team Secret's newest offlaner. He also discussed BOOM’s departure in more detail, offering his perspective on why Fbz was a better match for the team, where it was evident that Puppey's affinity for playing with Southeast Asian players played a part in the decision-making process.
