After taking a look at the players from team Afrermath in the last edition, we now turn attention to team Secret. Here's a look at the players...
SECRET
DauT – Is there anything left to say about DauT? Demonstrating incredible longevity and adaptability, he has maintained his position as one of the worlds best for almost two decades. Every time the game updates, play styles evolve and new challengers emerge, the end of DauT is predicted from some corners. Thankfully, rumours of the Lord’s death have been grossly exaggerated; he still stands tall. His recent 1v1 tournament form is a little underwhelming, but we can expect meticulous preparation from all the Secret players and as part of a 2v2 or 3v3 DauT could have a big say in the final outcome… but will it be a Masterpiece or a DauT Castle?
Score: 8 (out of 10)
JorDan_23 – The only other player at the tournament to have genuine claims to beating Viper at his best, JorDan returned from retirement in 2018. Now in a permanent state of semi-retirement, he flickers with glimpses of past glory (beating F1re and Miguel (twice) in Hidden Cup 2 qualifying and ECL South East Asia). Likely to play a leading role making sure the spreadsheets are kept updated, I expect to see much more of JorDan’s pearly white smile in front of camera or his inciteful commentary behind the microphone, than his in-game play. If JorDan does play, something has either gone terribly wrong or terribly right for his team.
Score: 5
Slam – Accused of sometimes being over aught on the big occasions, how will Slam fare on the biggest of all occasions? The forgotten man of Secret only represented his team once in the 1v1 rounds of ECL (bowing out in the quarterfinals of the Middle East round after losing to BacT), but when called upon he has been dependable in team games, partnering DauT to victory over Liereyy and Hearttt in the final of Doubles Age and splitting wins in his two appearances during a 3v3 show-match with AM in August 2018. Don’t expect to see (or hear) too much from Slam, but he has shown that when needed, he will be ready.
Score: 6
(Edit: Apparently Slam will not be participating in the final. Has this been confirmed?)
TaToH – Team Secret’s Mr Versatile. It is easy to forget that TaToH is still a relative newcomer in Secret, but he has quickly settled in and already feels like part of the furniture. He is able to fill any roll asked of him, whether it’s winning tournaments in the 1v1 rounds, slinging in team games or dominating in post-imperial. If he comes out on top in his developing rivalry with MbL it could go a long way to deciding which team takes home the trophy. In an era of tournament domination by TheViper, TaToH has efficiently racked up 8 winners medals and he’ll be hoping to add the ECL prize to his growing trophy cabinet.
Score: 9
TheViper – The G.O.A.T? A dominating performance and leading his team to victory in the ECL LAN final will strengthen an already rock solid argument that Viper is the best AoE2 player we’ve ever seen. Recent tournament failures (3 straight times he didn’t progress past the quarter finals) may have given his opponents some encouragement, but recent victory in the Mono Civ Cup has helped reassert his dominance. The greatest threat to Viper might be the weight of expectation; every time, and whoever, he plays he’ll be a strong favourite. MbL and TheMax are two players who know what it takes to beat Viper in a tournament and they will be hoping it’s more than a distant memory by the end of the finals.
Score: 10
Total = 38
(32 without Slam)
For comparison:
Aftermath = 37
SECRET
DauT – Is there anything left to say about DauT? Demonstrating incredible longevity and adaptability, he has maintained his position as one of the worlds best for almost two decades. Every time the game updates, play styles evolve and new challengers emerge, the end of DauT is predicted from some corners. Thankfully, rumours of the Lord’s death have been grossly exaggerated; he still stands tall. His recent 1v1 tournament form is a little underwhelming, but we can expect meticulous preparation from all the Secret players and as part of a 2v2 or 3v3 DauT could have a big say in the final outcome… but will it be a Masterpiece or a DauT Castle?
Score: 8 (out of 10)
JorDan_23 – The only other player at the tournament to have genuine claims to beating Viper at his best, JorDan returned from retirement in 2018. Now in a permanent state of semi-retirement, he flickers with glimpses of past glory (beating F1re and Miguel (twice) in Hidden Cup 2 qualifying and ECL South East Asia). Likely to play a leading role making sure the spreadsheets are kept updated, I expect to see much more of JorDan’s pearly white smile in front of camera or his inciteful commentary behind the microphone, than his in-game play. If JorDan does play, something has either gone terribly wrong or terribly right for his team.
Score: 5
Slam – Accused of sometimes being over aught on the big occasions, how will Slam fare on the biggest of all occasions? The forgotten man of Secret only represented his team once in the 1v1 rounds of ECL (bowing out in the quarterfinals of the Middle East round after losing to BacT), but when called upon he has been dependable in team games, partnering DauT to victory over Liereyy and Hearttt in the final of Doubles Age and splitting wins in his two appearances during a 3v3 show-match with AM in August 2018. Don’t expect to see (or hear) too much from Slam, but he has shown that when needed, he will be ready.
Score: 6
(Edit: Apparently Slam will not be participating in the final. Has this been confirmed?)
TaToH – Team Secret’s Mr Versatile. It is easy to forget that TaToH is still a relative newcomer in Secret, but he has quickly settled in and already feels like part of the furniture. He is able to fill any roll asked of him, whether it’s winning tournaments in the 1v1 rounds, slinging in team games or dominating in post-imperial. If he comes out on top in his developing rivalry with MbL it could go a long way to deciding which team takes home the trophy. In an era of tournament domination by TheViper, TaToH has efficiently racked up 8 winners medals and he’ll be hoping to add the ECL prize to his growing trophy cabinet.
Score: 9
TheViper – The G.O.A.T? A dominating performance and leading his team to victory in the ECL LAN final will strengthen an already rock solid argument that Viper is the best AoE2 player we’ve ever seen. Recent tournament failures (3 straight times he didn’t progress past the quarter finals) may have given his opponents some encouragement, but recent victory in the Mono Civ Cup has helped reassert his dominance. The greatest threat to Viper might be the weight of expectation; every time, and whoever, he plays he’ll be a strong favourite. MbL and TheMax are two players who know what it takes to beat Viper in a tournament and they will be hoping it’s more than a distant memory by the end of the finals.
Score: 10
Total = 38
(32 without Slam)
For comparison:
Aftermath = 37