Europe-based Team Secret came out as the first-ever ROG Masters DOTA 2 champions after sweeping the Philippines’ Execration 3-0. Held in the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre in Malaysia, Team Secret took home the biggest chunk of the tournament’s USD 150,000 (around PHP 7-million) prize pool.
Renowned as one of the world’s best, Team Secret got a direct invite to ROG Masters 2016. The team is composed of captain Clement “Puppey” Ivanov, Johan “pieliedie” Åström, Pyo “MP” No-a, and the latest addition to the team, Maurice “KheZu” Gutmann (formerly Escape Gaming’s offlaner), and Yeik “MidOne” Nai Zheng (formerly from Fnatic). Though not part of the Boston Major qualifiers, Team Secret is expected to be back in action next year for Asia’s next set of DOTA 2 tournaments.
Meanwhile, Execration—composed of key players from Cavite City with team captain Kimuel “Kim0” Rodis, along with Khim “Gabbi” Villafuerte, Djardel Jicko “DJ” Mampusti (formerly from Fnatic), Abed “Abed” Yusop, and Rafael Sicat “Rapy” Palo—got a ticket to the ROG Masters World Finals by winning in the Southeast Asia qualifiers. Because of their performance, Valve sent them a direct invite to the Boston Major to take place this coming December 2016 in Boston, Massachusetts. For this tournament, the team will be subbing Rapy for Adam Erwann “343” Shah.
“Asus Republic Of Gamers (ROG) being the world’s undisputed number one gaming laptop brand is always dedicated to support the local e-Sports scene and as well as Filipino rising stars in the country. We believe that Filipinos can compete with the world’s greatest players—Execration and Mineski proved this during the ROG Masters 2016 world finals and we are so proud of them,” shared Asus Philippines Systems Group country manager George Su.
“We have been emphasizing the importance of the Philippine market to us and we will continue to support key e-Sports activities in the country because we believe that ROG’s gaming machines and innovations will empower professional gamers and enthusiasts in their quest for glory,” Su concluded.