Noel “NDG” De Guia ties the knot with Team Secret after putting up impressive numbers in NAOS Esports.
PHILIPPINES – Team Secret have completed the signing of former NAOS Esports player Noel “NDG” De Guia to their roster, sealing the deal as the organization’s first acquisition in this transfer season. The 18-year-old will fill the vacant spot on the roster following the departure of Jayvee “DubsteP” Paguirigan last month.
With NDG joining the ranks, Team Secret continue to sport an all-Filipino lineup, incorporating a new player from the 2023 Challengers Philippines circuit.
In his recent tenure with NAOS Esports during the 2023 VCT season, NDG stood head and shoulders above the rest as one of the highest-performing players in the circuit while clinching victories in both VCL Philippines Split 1 and 2. He posted a VLR rating of 1.12 and an 80% KAST over 500 rounds in VCL Philippines Split 1 and also secured a team-second-best rating of 1.18 in VCL Philippines Split 2, spanning 232 rounds.
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However, starting in VCL Philippines Split 2, NDG assumed a more reserved role for NAOS, participating in only the initial four series. This extended to the VCT Ascension Pacific event, where he traveled with the team to participate in Thailand but was registered as a substitute.
Team Secret will be keeping their fingers crossed that NDG’s arrival will bring the extra firepower needed to the squad, which secured a respectable 5-6th position in the debut season of the VCT Pacific League. Although they were close to reaching VALORANT Champions Los Angeles, they narrowly missed out after losing the Last Chance Qualifier grand finals at the hands of eventual winners ZETA DIVISION.
The potential overlapping roles of NDG with Jim “BORKUM” Timbreza raise questions about how Team Secret plan to optimally position each player for the upcoming second season of VCT Pacific. Both NDG and BORKUM have consistently favored Controller agents, each selecting them at a rate of 72% as per VLR.gg. This trend might suggest NDG transitioning to Initiator, which is his next most-favored role based on his agent picks, especially during his recent tenure with the non-backed Valhalla MTZ squad.
With NDG’s addition, Team Secret now have:
- 🇵🇭 Jessie “JessieVash” Cristy Cuyco
- 🇵🇭 Jim “BORKUM” Timbreza
- 🇵🇭 Jeremy “Jremy” Cabrera
- 🇵🇭 Adrian “invy” Reyes
- 🇵🇭 Noel “NDG” De Guia
- 🇺🇸 Evan “Warbirds” Olzem (Coach)
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Cover photo courtesy of Team Secret
