Team Secret comes up short in Valorant Champions bid

MANILA, Philippines —The country's top Valorant squad, Team Secret, stumbled in its final match of the season against Japan's ZETA Division in the Last Chance Qualifiers (LCQ) for Valorant Champions, losing 1-3 in the grand finals held in Seoul, South Korea. 

The Adobo Gang had a good start in the LCQ, posting a 2-0 sweep over South Korea's Gen.G, the team that eliminated them during the Valorant Pacific Tour Playoffs back in May.

The Filipino team was relegated to the lower bracket by Japan's ZETA Division after a 0-2 defeat in the upper bracket finals, setting up another Team Secret and Gen.G match-up.

The South Korean squad took the first map, but Team Secret turned the tide and seized three consecutive maps to keep themselves alive in the tournament.

Hoping to avenge their earlier defeat at the hands of ZETA Division, Team Secret appeared to be on the brink of taking the first map, but it was ZETA Division who won in overtime.

Team Secret took Ascent to tie the series but the Japanese team came prepared, demolishing Team Secret's plays to take early leads in all the consecutive maps as the Adobo Gang was unable to catch up. The Filipinos eventually fell, 1-4, failing to qualify for the Valorant Champions for the second year in a row. The team previously advanced to Valorant's world stage in 2021 wherein they managed to reach the quarterfinals.

It hasn't been a great few weeks for Filipinos in the Valorant scene. RRQ, which boasts three Filipino players, was eliminated by Gen.G in the LCQ, while Philippine representatives to Valorant Challengers Tour-Ascension, NAOS Esports, was eliminated in the semifinals by Japan's SCARZ.