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In a bid to field a well-rounded and competitive roster in time for the ESL One Malaysia 2022 tournament, Team Secret has parted ways with Daryl Koh Pei “iceiceice” Xiang and found his replacement in the former HellRaisers offlaner Roman “Resolut1on” Fominok.
The franchise’s decision is coming on the back of their successful outing at the Dota 2 Riyadh Masters 2022, which was held in Saudi Arabia last month, where Secret ranked 3rd-4th place with prize money of $425,000.
Resolut1on had replaced iceiceice at the Riyadh Masters as a temporary stand-in but has now been signed as a permanent member of the franchise’s starting lineup. The Ukrainian gave the team the necessary push they needed to defeat some of the best teams in the world and finish the event strong.
Prior to the Riyadh Masters event, Secret had only posted mediocre results, finishing fifth in all three Tours of the Western Europe Dota Pro Circuit regional league and the GAMERS GALAXY: Invitational Series Dubai 2022. Despite the fact that Resolut1on was at the time a temporary player for the team for Riyadh Masters, he and the team looked the sharpest they have been in a long time.
Team Secret announced the Resolut1on signing via its Twitter page. ”Stand-in no more. The best offlane duo is finally back together. Welcome to the squad, Resolut1on #SecretDota”
Iceiceice, on the other hand, was given a shout-out on Twitter for all his time with the franchise. Secrets bade him farewell allowing him to explore other options ahead of the TI qualifiers.
”It’s a tough decision to make but today we say goodbye to iceiceice. Thank you for your time with the squad, we wish you the best in the future. Farewell ice #SecretDota”
Resolut1on was initially brought in by Secret because Zayac, who was acquired as YapzOr’s replacement owing to some ongoing health issues he encountered, wanted to play alongside him. The move is now official, and the offlane-duo has been reunited. With Secret securing its lineup ahead of the WEU qualifiers for The International 2022, the signing also keeps Resolut1on out of Southeast Asia pubs.
According to analyst Ben “Noxville” Steenhuisen, the signing also adds to an interesting stat with Resolut1on becoming the ninth teammate Team Secret’s founder Clement “Puppey” Ivanov has played with on a permanent roster who currently ranks in the top 15 in competitive Dota games players.
