Team Secret stormed into the Pro League scene in Season 8 after a brisk Challenger League season and was quickly crowned DreamHack Valencia champions, finished third in the world at the Paris Major, and ended the season in third place (in Europe).
Despite this remarkable season, the team has suffered an awful start to Season 9, winning just a single game in their first seven -- and that too against the reigning world champions of G2 Esports, making them the first team ever to beat the lineup twice.
The Team Secret roster lifting the DreamHack Valencia 2018 trophy while known as i don’t know via @DreamHackR6
When the mid-season transfer window opened, Secret made a significant change, replacing Ryan "Lacky" Stapley with a relatively inexperienced player in Aku "Fonkers" Seppä.
Prior to this, though, we caught up with Team Secret’s Canadian coach, Helbee, at the Six Invitational to ask how they are gonna bounce back from the rough start to their season and to get his thoughts on the new changes that were announced at the event:
Helbee during the interview via @Mjayx_
What do you think of our grand-finalists, Empire and G2 -- do you think one team is stronger or are they evenly matched?
The statistics for the 2019 Invitational grand-final between Team Empire and G2 Esports
Could you give us some thoughts Secret’s season so far?
The standings after seven play days in the European region of the Pro League during Season 9.
What do you think of Kaid and Nomad coming into the meta -- is it going to change things?
We’ve now had the new balancing changes announced as well, is there anything there which stands out to you?
Note: The Capitao changes mentioned here have since been rolled back and do not affect the live build of the game.
What lessons have you learnt from the other teams here?
Do you have anything to say to fans?
Team Secret’s next game will be tomorrow night against mousesports (previously known as ENCE eSports) with this roster:
Matthew "meepeY" Sharples (Captain)
Leon "LeonGids" Giddens
David "sTiZze" de Castro
Bryan "Elemzje" Tebessi
Aku "Fonkers" Seppä
Louis "Helbee" Bureau (their coach)
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Keep an eye out for more coverage of Team Secret and player interviews on the SiegeGG Twitter and YouTube accounts.