Team Secret bench YapzOr after 5 years

Yazied “YapzOr” Jaradat, one of the best position 4 players in the history of Dota 2, has been benched by Team Secret.

However, Clement “Puppey” Ivanov did not temporarily replace YapzOr for being weak or unmotivated, but rather because he has a health problem and needed to take an extended break.

YapzOr’s achievements with Team Secret

YapzOr joined Team Secret in May 2017 and his experience up until that point had not been amazing. Sure, he played for some of the known tier-2 teams for around five years, but the results were modest. Individually, on the other hand, he was doing spectacular things. And that’s what caught Puppey’s attention.

During his active years with Secret, YapzOr won several Majors and came close to winning several more. He also finished in the top six at The International three times. In 2021, his team took third place.

Apart from these huge successes, YapzOr won dozens of smaller tournaments and was instrumental in his team’s triumphs. Time will probably tell just how good he was, because his talent is hard to replace.

Team Secret’s current situation in WEU Tour 3

For now, Team Secret seem to have avoided a complete disaster in Western Europe’s Division 1. They were close to being relegated but in the last two weeks, they managed to win two difficult matches and it looks like they will finish Tour 3 in fifth or sixth place. This is far from satisfactory for Puppey, but at least it’s something.

Team Secret will need to play in the qualifiers for The International 2022 and the race is not going to be easy. Other strong competitors, such as Nigma Galaxy, will be there as well. With only one ticket for The International, there’s a high chance that Secret will miss the upcoming edition.

YapzOr’s replacement

To replace YapzOr, Puppey has decided to bring in Baqyt “Zayac” Emiljanov from HYDRA. This player is best known for his Natus Vincere and Virtus.pro years, but he’s far from being a confirmed superstar.

It’s very likely that Puppey simply needed someone to join as soon as possible and was probably in good relations with Zayac. So he simply asked him to join the team. How could anyone say no to Team Secret, when they’ve never tasted real success?

In the coming months, it will become clear whether or not Zayac was the right choice for the role. If Secret qualify for TI and they do well at the tournament, he’ll probably continue to play for them next season as well. But if they fail, Puppey will replace him right after The International.

Header: Team Secret