Team Secret has announced their new roster - which could also be the reason why they were taking a break from attending tournaments. MidOne - their mid lane player, takes the bench and the addition of Matumbaman looks to revitalize the team.
According to their announcement, unlike the past season and a half, Matu will return to the carry position, with Nisha shifting over to the middle lane. While the former has had a vibrant history of playing carry heroes, having won The International 2017 as a carry player, people may not remember that Nisha as well used to play mid lane for his former team, Team Kinguin.
As for why MidOne himself departed, Secret themselves have attributed this to multiple years spent playing and living in Europe to be too much for him. He’s personally chosen to take a break from competitive DOTA 2, while still being contracted to the organization itself. As successful as he has been for as many years, it’s important to keep in mind that DOTA players consistently suffer from burnout and homesickness, particularly the younger ones.
Speculation however, exists that MidOne is in a similar position as Sumail - the legendary former mid player for Evil Geniuses - in that he simply can’t leave the team due to current contractual obligations. Although Secret has been incredibly successful under his presence as a mid laner, winning seven tournaments and ending up top 4 at Ti in just the previous season, he’s already been with the team since August 2016 - having passed three years now.
The move also sees the departure of their coach Sunbhie, who has been the coach of Secret since 2017 - stepping in from TNC. As is seemingly tradition, Secret has replaced him with the most recent former TNC coach - Heen - who took Liquid to their number one finish at TI7.
Whether or not Nisha can step up to fill the superstar’s shoes is something only time can tell, but Team Secret are expected to return to action with the qualifiers of the next Major which will take place in the first week of December. Their lineup currently is:
Matumbaman - CarryNisha - MidZai - OfflaneYapzOr - Soft SupportPuppey - Hard SupportHeen - CoachMidOne - Bench
Written byMamoon Sabri@ggTeaTime
Images courtesy of Starladder