Team Secret Releases iceiceice From Dota 2 Roster

Team Secret announced the departure of Daryl “iceiceice” Koh, who got replaced by Roman “Resolut1on” Fomynok on Wednesday, August 3.

The roster change follows the team’s successful run at Riyadh Masters 2022, where Team Secret placed top-four with Resolut1on as a substitute.

Team Secret are widely known as one of the world’s best Dota 2 teams and a squad that dominated the European Dota 2 scene in 2019-2020. But things were far from perfect this season.

Team Secret were not even as dominant as we were used to last year when they won just one event in DreamLeague Season 14 DPC EU Upper Division, but they were always competitive, which led to a strong finish to the season. Despite not winning a single event besides the first DPC, Team Secret finished The International 10 in third place, which was the highest placement in the organization’s history.

But despite their success at the end of the 2021 season, Team Secret struggled early into 2022. The team struggled in the first WEU DPC Tour and could only manage a fifth-place finish with a 4-3 record.

Things did not improve in the following months, as Team Secret failed to show up at GAMERS GALAXY: Invitational Series Dubai 2022 and were just as disappointing in the final two WEU DPC Tours, finishing both in fifth place. But Secret found their stride at the most unexpected moment.

As one of the teams attending Riyadh Masters 2022 in July, Team Secret weren’t expected to achieve much. Not only because they were struggling with their form but also because the squad traveled to Riyadh without iceiceice, who was unable to acquire a visa.

To replace iceiceice, Team Secret acquired Resolut1on, who joined the team as a temporary substitute after having been out of the professional scene since October 2021, when he left HellRaisers. And despite low expectations, the 25-year-old delivered.

Not many believe in Team Secret and their chances to impress in Riydfah, as there were many questions about how the team will do with a substitute player. But it soon became clear that Team Secret could play well with Resolut1on and perform even better than they did throughout the year.

Team Secret instantly clicked with Resolut1on and looked nearly unstoppable, and topped Group B with a 3-1-0 record. Even more impressive is that Team Secret won against Tundra, PSGF.LGD, and played a draw with reigning The International champions Team Spirit.

Unfortunately, Secret’s run abruptly stopped in the playoffs, where they lost against Spirit (1-2), finishing the tournament in third place alongside the former Major champions OG.

But despite not winning the trophy, Team Secret displayed the best performance we’ve seen from them since 2021. So it made a lot of sense for Secret to keep Resolut1on on the team and move forward without iceiceice.

Although a shocking move, it makes plenty of sense knowing that Secret need to find their stride soon if they wish to qualify for The International. And perhaps replacing one of the key players with Resolut1on is the right move that will help the European juggernauts achieve that feat.

The roster change also expands an interesting career stat for Team Secret’s captain Clement “Puppey” Ivanov. Resolut1on is Puppey’s ninth teammate he has played with on a permanent roster that holds a spot in the to-15 in the competitive Dota 2 scene.

Although Team Secret already played with Resolut1on, the Ukrainian Dota 2 pro has yet to make his official debut for the team as a player. That will come at ESL One Malaysia 2022, slated to kick off on August 23.