Team Secret settles for 3rd in regional tiff, misses out on Valorant Masters

MANILA, Philippines —Team Secret's run in the VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT)-Asia Pacific Challengers (APAC) reached an abrupt end last June 26 after losing to Thailand's XERXIA, 1-2, during the lower bracket finals.

The loss meant that the Filipino team will not be able to qualify to Valorant Masters happening in Copenhagen, Denmark in July.

The champions of the local leg of the VCT Stage 2, Team Secret bounced back after an early exit during Stage 1 to once again retain top spot in the local Valorant scene and qualify for the regional tournament.

The group stages saw three Filipino teams hoping to book a slot at the knockout stages but only Team Secret managed to survive after finishing second in Group D.

The knockout stages saw a streaking Team Secret staying in the Upper Bracket after defeating Thailand champions XERXIA and Indonesian champions ONIC Esports. But rivals Paper Rex eventually sent them to the lower bracket.

A rematch against XERXIA for the final Masters spot and a chance to reclaim the regional crown saw the Filipino team take Map 1 but Thailand staged a comeback win to take the next two maps, eliminating Team Secret from the competition, as well as shooting down their shot at Masters.

They end the tournament at third place and a prize pool of $12,500 (approximately Php684, 881.25).

Last chance qualifier

Though Team Secret will not be representing the country in the Valorant Masters, there is still a chance for the Philippine representatives to take part in the culminating world tournament Valorant Champions, which will take place in Istanbul, Turkey in September.

Their third place finish in VCT APAC Stage 2 gave Team Secret 75 circuit points to elevate them to sixth place in the standings, jumping from 20th. The ranking propels Team Secret to the VCT APAC Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) wherein the top remaining nine teams from the region will battle it out for the last final slot for Valorant Champions.

Team Secret will be the lone Philippine team as RRQ Philippines, South Built Esports and Oasis Gaming all fell short in the ranking, with RRQ Philippine being the closest at 16th place.

The VCT APAC Last Chance Qualifier will begin on August 1.