Interview With Team Secret Azar: "I Feel We’re Stronger Now That We’re Playing Together"

The quarterfinals of the League of Legends: Wild Rift Horizon Cup 2021 were rife with action-packed matches. The match between the two Southeast Asian (SEA) rival teams - the Vietnamese team of SBTC Esports and the Philippines (PH) team of Team Secret, was undoubtedly one of the most anticipated matches in the whole tournament. Albeit short, the match saw the PH team exacting sweet vengeance upon the Vietnamese team who had previously defeated them in the Wild Rift SEA Championship 2021.

Team Secret has always been one of the most interesting teams in the Wild Rift Esports scene. This is primarily because of their mental resilience and determination to take on the toughest challenges. They are resolute despite having only participated in Wild Rift events separately from their respective homes. The team is yet to have its own boot camp but this has never hindered them from dominating their matches.

Team Secret’s Wild Rift roster is composed of Eleazar "Azar" Salle, Robert "Trebor" Mansilungan, Morris "Core" Raymundo, Heri "Tatsurii" Garcia, Caster "Chewy" Dela Cruz, and James "Hamezz" Santos. While Core rarely appears in esports events, he is the team’s secret trump card whenever they wanted to add a little bit of spice into their team composition. Since its debut in February 2021, Team Secret has never had any roster changes allowing the members of the team to develop some amazing chemistry, unmatched by the other teams.

As the only remaining representative for both Southeast Asia and the Philippines, the pressure is high for Team Secret as they try to clutch the championship title in the Horizon Cup 2021. But how confident are they in reaching the grand finals against the best of the best in the world?

Team Secret’s inseparable bond grows ever stronger

The Horizon Cup 2021 is more than just an esports event for the PH Wild Rift team as it also serves as an opportunity for the members to finally compete side by side with each other since their debut.

In a conversation with AFK Gaming, Team Secret’s Baron Laner Eleazar "Azar" Salle believes that his team’s communication and their bond were strengthened during the Horizon Cup 2021.

“For me, it’s really fun and we feel so strong together because there is not much of a problem now. We can hear each other clearly and we can say what we want without network issues and something like that, those happen really often before,” stated Azar.

This new experience allowed the team to take down their SEA rival, SBTC Esports in the quarterfinals with a 3-0 clean sweep victory. According to Azar, Team Secret has improved significantly in terms of drafting and strategies. Being able to compete without the hindrance of playing separately from their respective homes was an entirely new and rewarding experience for the team.

“We’re very confident right now, especially after that match (against SBTC Esports). I think we got it, the tempo is ours and we’ll keep it that way until the end of this tournament,” stated Azar.

The Baron Laner admits that the Chinese teams - Da Kun Gaming and Thundertalk Gaming are indeed the toughest teams in the tournament. However, he is confident that their team captain James "Hamezz" Santos will find a way for the team to dominate.

“You can see how smooth their gameplay is and how they take control of the map. They’re really good in their micro and macro,” stated Azar. “But we can see their weaknesses. I think Hamez can penetrate their team composition because he’s really good. That will then be our chance to defeat them.”

The relevance of Wild Rift in SEA compared to other regions

While Wild Rift saw massive success in Asian regions such as the SEA and China, it falls a bit short in other regions such as NA and EU. Azar believes that this is due to other regions’ preference of playing on personal computers instead of mobile phones.

“It’s new to them. Here in SEA, mobile games have already been established. Many people have already been playing mobile games while other countries are still new to this,“ stated Azar.

The same things can be said about the relevance of League of Legends PC in SEA compared to other regions. According to Azar, having your own computer in PH is quite expensive so most players will go to computer shops or internet cafes which limits their gameplay and growth to become esports pro players.

However, since almost everyone can afford to have a mobile phone, this allows anyone to simply grind and find better opportunities to pursue their career as a Wild Rift esports pro player. This is why he believes that SEA is dominant in terms of mobile esports.

Team Secret sets its eyes on the championship title of the Horizon Cup 2021

With the tournament being an offline format, Azar firmly believes that this format is perfect for his team and he prefers this type of format to online events such as the Wild Rift SEA Championship 2021 and the SEA Icon Series.

The Baron Laner states that “when you’re playing online, at your own homes, there’s going to be problems like internet issues and whatnot.” So playing at a LAN event where everyone will be playing side by side will automatically eliminate issues and improve the team’s communication.

He ended his statements by thanking all the fans who continue to support them through thick and thin. Team Secret will “keep this momentum going along with the fire in our hearts.” With that said, Azar and his team will stop at nothing to take the championship title in the Horizon Cup 2021.