Team Secret has secured Top 3 in this year's The International, bringing the team to the same position they had back in The International 2021 – the best performance the team has had in the organization's history. The team's coach, Heen, says that the team isn't doing anything special to prepare for the Finals – that the team is doing the same thing they do before every game. Same as always, they prepare to win. It's just that this time, they're playing to win for the Aegis of the Immortals.
However, outside of the team's preparation for The TI Finals this weekend, Heen also shared some interesting takes during the media scrum that Valve organized for the press.
For one, when asked, Heen says that “No Korean roster will achieve anything,” and did not really elaborate on the statement. True enough, there were multiple attempts for a full Korean roster before, some of which even included Heen, and none of them succeeded in taking home the Aegis. As of now, there are no more pro teams fielding a full Korean roster in any of the regions, and there's only exactly one player, DuBu, who qualified for TI.
He also took some friendly shots at other teams. “Never trust anyone who predicts in Dota,” says Heen. “They're all wrong.” He pointed at the group stage and how it informed everyone's predictions for the playoffs. “The group stage does not matter,” he says jokingly. “Look at EG, they're gone. I'm just kidding.”
Meanwhile, about previous teams he coached before, he was asked to compare two of the teams in the Top 4. He jokingly first said that he can't remember anything about his time with Team Liquid, but then he says, without revealing too much, that Team Liquid was more heart while Team Secret was more logic-based. Heen coached Team Liquid from 2016 to 2018 and was with the team when it won The International 2017.
On his thoughts about SEA and TNC, Heen says that there are so many strong players in SEA, but they don't have “The Thing” that lets them win. He cited the lack of strong leadership in the forms of captains who can lead their teams to victory, or how none of the players liked to take any responsibilities. Heen last coached TNC back in 2019 which included his former teammate March, the team that won the 2019-2020 DPC Cup only for the season to be cut short by the pandemic.
Team Secret will be facing Tundra Esports in the upper bracket finals of the Dota 2 The International on Saturday for a spot in the Grand Finals.
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