Team Secret bow out of VCT Pacific Kickoff in 5th place. (Photo: Riot Games)

Filipino VALORANTsquad Team Secret were forced to an early exit out of the VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) 2024 Pacific Kickoff after only placing second at the tournament's Play-In stage on Thursday (22 February).

Secret were already struggling to start the tournament, as they got swept, 2-0, in their opening game at the Group Stage by Talon Esports. However, they bounced back at the elimination match, taking down Japanese team DetonatioN FocusMe in a 2-0 sweep of their own.

Then, they exacted revenge against Talon by sweeping them, 2-0, at their group's decider match to make it to the Play-ins. At the Play-ins, the Filipino squad needed to win a round-robin against South Korean team Gen.G and Japanese squad ZETA Division in order to advance to the Playoffs.

Secret opened their series against Gen.G on Breeze, where they led the first half 8-4. They then closed out the second half with a dominant 5-1 run, allowing them to take the first game with a 13-5 score.

In game two at Lotus, Secret started well in the first half again with an 8-4 lead but couldn't keep their momentum in the second half. Gen.G went on a 9-1 run after the side switch to tie up the series with a 13-9 score.

The South Korean team kept their momentum up in the decider and showcased their map mastery on Icebox. However, Secret fought tooth-and-nail in every turn and held a 12-10 lead over Gen.G after 22 rounds.

However, Gen.G were able to turn things around and force game three into overtime by round 24. And while Secret claimed the first round of overtime, Gen.G won the next three rounds to the 2-1 series victory.

Fresh from defeat, Secret immediately faced ZETA on Icebox, where the Filipino squad stomped their opponents with a dominant 13-1 score. On Ascent in game two, ZETA pulled ahead in the first half with a 7-5 score before the Filipino squad took total control with a 8-1 second half run to secure the series sweep.

Unfortunately for Secret, Gen.G also won their match against ZETA in a 2-0 sweep to secure a spot in the Playoffs and send both Secret and ZETA packing.

Story continues

Secret bowed out of the competition in fifth place, narrowly missing the Playoffs by a hair. They will be taking home US$15,000 in consolation. ZETA also exit in sixth place and earning US$5,000 for their efforts.

The VCT Pacific Kickoff will continue over the weekend with the Playoffs kicking off on Saturday (24 February) with the first of two Playoff semifinals matches featuring South Korean team T1 and Singaporean squad and VALORANT Champions runner-up Paper Rex at 4:00 PM Singapore Time.

This will be followed by the semi-final match between DRX and GEN.G at 6:00 PM Singapore Time.

Anna is a freelance writer and photographer. She is a gamer who loves RPGs and platformers, and is a League of Legends geek. She's also a food enthusiast who loves a good cup of black coffee.

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