In a surprising turn of events, Team Secret have announced that they will advance to the play-in round of the Riyadh Masters 2023 in Saudi Arabia, which will begin on July 19. They will field the regular lineup with the same roster as in previous months, including Saieful “Fbz” Ilham, their latest signing from Indonesia.
A month ago, Team Secret captain Clement “Puppey” Ivanov formed the Team Secret ME unit to compete in the Riyadh Masters 2023 MENA Qualifier from June 22 to 24, with new members, the majority of whom were from the region, such as Mohammad “Afromoush Eis, Yazied “Yapzor” Jarada, and Anas “Mage” Hirzallah.
Although the new Team Secret showed improvement, they ultimately fell to the European underdog Quest Esports in the grand final. This gave fans the impression that Team Secret would not go to the Riyadh Masters after the defeat. However, based on ESL calculations of points, Team Secret, along with numerous other European regional teams such as Virtus.pro, OG, and Entity, have been granted eligibility to compete in the 2023 Riyadh Masters play-in.
According to the ESL website, these teams have accumulated the required ESL Pro Tour points through events such as Dreamleague S19 and S20. This also applies to teams from other regions, such as SEA’s Talon and Execration and NA’s TSM.
As such, Team Secret will be able to use the same lineup for the Riyadh Masters in 2023 that they used in European competitions. This also solidifies Fbz’s status in their lineup, indicating that his return to Boom Esports in Indonesia is unlikely in the near future.
The Riyadh Masters 2023 tournament will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from July 19 to 30, with 20 teams fighting for a massive $15,000,000 prize fund. This is certainly the right place for professional players to test their strategies before The International 12 kicks off in the United States in October.
