Dota 2: Team Secret sign Dutch prodigy Crystallis to replace SumaiL
Team Secret announced on Monday (23 May) that they have signed 20-year old Dutch prodigy, Remco "Crystallis" Arets, to take over as the team's carry following the departure of Sumail "SumaiL" Hassan.
Crystallis has been one of the most promising young talents in Western Europe for some time now, constantly topping the region's MMR leaderboard and even becoming a member of the exclusive 12K MMR club.
Prior to joining Team Secret, Crystallis played for Entity, helping the team finish in first place of Division II in the 2021-2022 Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) Western European regional league back in the Winter Tour and in sixth place of Division I during the Spring Tour.
Crystallis was also a member of the Creepwave stack alongside fellow prodigies Bozhidar "bzm" Bogdanov, Ammar "ATF" Al-Assaf, and Evgenii "Chu" Makarov, who all joined OG last November and helped the team win the recently-concluded ESL One Dota 2 Stockholm Major.
Crystallis will be joining Team Secret in a time of need.
Despite its star-studded roster that once featured SumaiL alongside Michal "Nisha" Jankowski, Daryl "iceiceice" Koh Pei Xiang, Yazied "YapzOr" Jaradat, and Clement "Puppey" Ivanov, the team have failed to live up to expectations.
In the Winter Tour regional league for Western Europe, Secret only managed a 4-3 record, which placed them fifth in the league and out of the picture for the Winter Tour regional finals.
It was a similar story in the Spring Tour, as Secret once again placed fifth with a 3-4 record.
Two of Secret's four losses notably came at the hands of Nigma Galaxy and Brame Esports, who were both demoted to Division II by the league's conclusion.
While Secret's fifth place finishes were enough to maintain their place in Division I in Western Europe, failing to qualify for a Regional Final or a Major in back-to-back Tours is an unacceptable outcome for a team comprised of some of the best players in the world.
Secret and Crystallis will have a very tough road ahead if they wish to become of the 12 teams that will receive a direct invite for The International 11 (TI11), which will be held in Singapore in October.
The team currently has 59.5 DPC points, good for 28th place in the circuit leaderboard and very far away from the Top 12 placement required for a direct invite.
In order to earn enough DPC points, Secret will need to face some tough competition in OG, Tundra Esports, and Gaimin Gladiators — three of the Top 4 teams in the Stockholm Major — in the upcoming Summer Tour regional league for Western Europe.
Should Secret finish the Summer league in the Top 4 of their region — already a tall order as it is — and qualify for the Summer Major in Arlington, Texas in August, they also need to make a deep run there against the best teams from across the world to even have a chance for a direct invite.
Crystallis is expected to make his debut with Team Secret once the Summer Tour regional league for Western Europe kicks off in June.
Team Secret Dota 2 roster:
Remco "Crystallis" Arets
Michal "Nisha" Jankowski
Daryl "iceiceice" Koh Pei Xiang
Yazied "YapzOr" Jaradat
Clement "Puppey" Ivanov
Lee "Heen" Seung Gon (coach)
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