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| Ivan Saldajeno |
By Ivan Saldajeno
PARAÑAQUE--Secret's Filipino fans got saddened after the club took to social media its initial decision of not accepting the direct invite to the ESL One tournament at the Mall of Asia Arena beginning Friday.
Nearly a month later, however, the fans rejoice after ESL announced that Secret changed course and finally accepted the invite.
[Related Story: CHANGE OF HEART | Secret finally accepts ESL One invite]
"A lot of things were changed like the dates and the format. They worked for us, so we traveled here," Team captain Clement Ivanov revealed to Dugout Philippines why Secret finally confirmed its participation.
Ivanov, known in the online gaming world by his in-game name Puppey, also, in a way, agreed to some clamors that his team, which recently won the Shanghai Major, is among the teams to beat in ESL One by saying that the pressure is on them.
"We do have a lot of pressure on ourselves because we were the Shanghai [Major] winners and now we have to keep winning," he particularly said.
However, he downplayed the said pressure and said, "I don't think it's a big deal. Usually, teams that think it's a big deal flop and start losing. I mellow myself down, feel myself OK with losing, and just find out the rhythm for our team, because you have to reinvent yourself after each tournament anyway."
The Estonian skipper also believes the European club can survive the loud crowd noise at the Pasay venue cheering for Philippine contingent Mineski.
"[We are] not really [concerned our homecourt disadvantage], but I think it's good that there's a home team for every country because that's what makes everything kinda strong. It's a negative aspect to play against a crowd that only cheers for the other team, but I lived through it. It doesn't matter to me that much," Puppey said.
He also said that like Mineski, Secret will use ESL One as a buildup for the Manila Major in June.
Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno
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