Team Secret set to rematch ZETA in grand finals of Pacific LCQ

Team Secret Team Secret Asia-Pacific Rank #6 invy Adrian Jiggs Reyes BORKUM Jim Timbreza JessieVash Jessie Cuyco Jremy Jeremy Cabrera NDG Noel De Guia bested Gen.G Gen.G Korea Rank #2 Munchkin Byeon Sang-beom (변상범) t3xture Kim Na-ra (김나라) Meteor Kim Tae-O (김태오) Lakia Kim Jong-min (김종민) Karon Kim Won-tae (김원태) 3-1 in the lower final of the Pacific LCQ. The Filipino team experienced a slight hiccup on Haven before running away with the series.

Gen.G came into the match after taking care of Rex Regum Qeon Rex Regum Qeon Asia-Pacific Rank #33 xffero David Monangin Lmemore Hagai Kristen Yesyurun Jemkin Maksim Batorov Estrella Park Gun (박건) fl1pzjder Saibani Rahmad in a three-map series with Meteor consistently delivering MVP-level performances throughout his team's LCQ run. On the other hand, Secret came into the rematch after a one-sided loss to ZETA DIVISION ZETA DIVISION Japan Rank #7 Laz Ushida Koji yuran Yushin Hato hiroronn Hiroki Yanai Dep Yuma Hashimoto SugarZ3ro Shota Watanabe following their initial game versus Gen.G.

Secret's earlier match against Gen.G saw them defeat the Korean squad in a convincing 2-0.

“They played the same… we expected it,” said invy .

Round seven on Lotus saw a knife kill come through onto GodDead from a flanking Jremy , a perfect representation for most of the series as Secret outclassed Gen.G on the final two maps and second half of Pearl.

*Gen.G were swept aside by Team Secret. (Photo by Riot Games)

Secret previously took Haven over Gen.G in dominant fashion and chose the map as their first pick coming into the best of five. This time around, Gen.G seemed prepared on the map and had a solid game plan coming into the rematch. Meteor dropped 17 kills in the first half alone as Gen.G bolted to a 9-3 start.

Secret found success once on their own defense, but it wasn't enough to quell the lead that had been accumulated by Gen.G. Meteor and TS dropped 1.37 and 1.32 ratings respectively to secure the first map 13-10 in their favor.

Despite Secret taking the initial pistol and bonus round, Gen.G once again got off to a hot start on Pearl. Gen.G's last outing on Pearl was against Talon Esports in their first game of the LCQ. Gen.G struggled to close out the map in that series as well, leading 9-3 at halftime to choke at the final hurdle and concede the map 13-11. Unfortunately for the Koreans, their game against Gen.G would go similarly. The first half ended with Gen.G looking dominant on the defense as Secret won just a single gun round and trailed 7-5 at halftime.

After taking their second pistol and the lead, Secret put themselves in prime position to come back into the game. After a short streak of four from Gen.G, a 4K from invy led to Secret taking the last four rounds of regulation to secure the map 13-11.

“I popped off on Pearl when the team needed it most,” said invy.

The third map of Ascent was pure domination from Team Secret. Gen.G managed just two rounds before Secret closed things out 13-2 in the shortest map so far in the LCQ. invy continued his star form on Ascent, acquiring a 2.08 rating, the highest single map rating in the tournament, and a 100% KAST.

This was Gen.G's second 13-2 loss of the tournament. The Koreans were on the receiving end of another blowout at the hands of RRQ yesterday on Lotus and were now forced to win on the map or concede the series to Team Secret.

Unfortunately for Gen.G, Lotus went similarly to their game versus RRQ. Secret exploited the weaknesses of TS's defensive Gekko to take a 10-2 first half. invy and DubsteP collected a combined 31 kills in the first half to put their team three rounds away from the grand finals.

Gen.G failed to convert a pistol round win to start the second half, gifting Secret match point and a 12-3 lead. Gen.G's attempted comeback was cut short at three rounds as JessieVash 's squad moved to the grand finals.

Team Secret have made the grand finals of the Pacific LCQ and will [rematch](https://www.vlr.gg/237274/zeta-division-vs-team-secret-champions-tour-2023-pacific-last-chance-qualifier-gf] against ZETA DIVISION tomorrow for a shot at Champions 2023.

Gen.G's season has been filled with chances at success, but the Koreans faltered when it mattered most. Despite having been one Bo3 away from Masters: Tokyo, Gen.G have been eliminated from the LCQ in third place and their 2023 season has come to a close.