Dota 2: YapzOr returns from hiatus with Team Secret ME for Riyadh Masters qualifier

It is unclear if YapzOr will rejoin the main Team Secret roster as the squad looks ahead to the regional qualifiers for The International 2023.

·Contributing Editor

Updated 21 June 2023 at 9:44 am·4-min read

Jordanian Dota 2 star YapzOr will be making his return to pro play after an extended health break as part of Team Secret ME in the MENA qualifier for Riyadh Masters 2023. (Photo: Dota 2 TI Flickr)

Jordanian Dota 2 star position 4 support player Yazied "YapzOr" Jaradat will be making his return to pro play as part of Team Secret ME (Middle-East) for the upcoming MENA qualifier for Riyadh Masters 2023.

YapzOr took an extended health break from pro Dota 2 last July due to undisclosed medical reasons.

Having apparently recovered from his condition, YapzOr will be competing in the Riyadh Masters' MENA qualifier in a secondary Team Secret roster formed exclusively for the event.

Team Secret ME will be comprised of YapzOr and fellow Jordanian players Anas "MagE-" Hirzallah and Mohammad "AfrOmoush" Eis. Rounding out the roster are Remco "Crystallis" Arets and Clement "Puppey" Ivanov, who are part of the main Team Secret roster competing in the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC).

YapZor will notably play as Team Secret ME's offlaner instead of his signature position 4 support role, which is occupied by AfrOmoush. Crystallis and Puppey reprise their regular roles as carry and position 5 support, respectively, while MagE- will be the midlaner.

Riyadh Masters will be the biggest Dota 2 event outside of the DPC this year, boasting a huge prize pool of US$15 million. The tournament will be hosted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 17 to 30 July.

A total of 20 teams will participate in Riyadh Masters, with 19 teams earning their spots in the tournament through the ESL Pro Tour. The last spot is reserved for the winner of the MENA qualifier, taking place from 22 to 24 June.

Aside from Team Secret ME, three other teams will be competing in the MENA qualifier, namely Nigma Galaxy, Quest Esports, and Dota Enjoyers. Nigma Galaxy and Quest Esports were directly invited to the qualifier while Team Secret ME and Dota Enjoyers first had to go through an open qualifier.

Will YapzOr return to the main Team Secret roster?

Secret notably did not make an official announcement of YapzOr's return to pro play with Team Secret ME, which begs the question of whether or not he will eventually rejoin the organisation's main Dota 2 roster.

Team Secret has been on quite the rollercoaster since YapzOr took his health break last July.

With YapZor on the sidelines, Secret competed in The International 2022 (TI 2022) with Baqyt "Zayac" Emiljanov as his replacement. The roster also included Crystallis, Michał "Nisha" Jankowski, Roman "Resolut1on" Fominok, and Puppey.

Secret earned their spot in TI 2022 from the Last Chance Qualifier then went on an incredible run all the way to the Grand Finals. However, they fell short of completing that ultimate Cinderella run after they got swept, 3-0, by eventual champions Tundra Esports.

Following their second place finish at TI 2022, Secret lost superstar midlaner Nisha to Team Liquid and replaced him with former Gaimin Gladiators midlaner Miroslav "BOOM" Bičan.

The loss of Nisha hamstrung Secret, as they began the 2023 DPC season by getting relegated to Division II after finishing last in the Winter Tour regional league for Western Europe.

Following their horrid start to the season, Secret parted ways with Resolut1on and Zayac in early March. They then signed Armel "Armel" Tabios and Daniyal "yamich" Lazebnyy while also moving BOOM to the offlane role.

Following that roster overhaul, Secret regained its spot in Division I after finishing the Division II Spring Tour regional league in first place. However, they were knocked back down to Division II after once again finishing last in the Summer Tour regional league.

Following that second relegation to Division II, Secret replaced BOOM with Indonesian offlaner Saieful "Fbz" Ilham.

Secret's latest roster competed in the ongoing DreamLeague Season 20, where they showed some promise but ultimately got knocked out after the first group stage.

Secret is expected to field its current roster in the regional qualifiers of TI 2023. With this year's world championship tournament for Dota 2 taking place in Seattle in October, the regional qualifiers are expected to be held in mid-August or early September.

Rosters for TI 2023 will be locked by early August, so there is still some time for Secret to decide whether they will try for TI with YapzOr back in the lineup. But considering how its current roster has performed and the fact that YapzOr has been away from pro play for almost a year, it is looking unlikely.

With that said, how YapzOr will perform with Team Secret ME in the Riyadh Masters' MENA qualifier will surely factor into that addition.

For more esports news updates, visit https://yhoo.it/YahooEsportsSEA and check out Yahoo Esports Southeast Asia’s Facebook page and Twitter, as well as our Gaming channel on YouTube.

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Will YapzOr return to the main Team Secret roster?

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