“DPC Is the Worst Thing That Ever Happened to Dota 2” — Puppey Shares His Thoughts on the Tournament System

PARIVISION captain Clement Puppey Ivanov spoke in detail on a podcast with analyst Maurice KheZu Gutmann about the impact of the tournament system on the scene, failed and successful Team Secret rosters, and his own future in esports.

According to Puppey, the introduction of the Dota Pro Circuit had a negative effect on the lifestyle of professional players. Long leagues, constant bootcamps, and a limited number of LAN tournaments turned seasons into endless qualifiers, often without meaningful prize money or a sense of progress.

Imagine you have a life: studies, friends, things to do. Then you leave for two months to play DPC, come back home for three weeks, and go back to a two-month bootcamp. Sometimes you earn a thousand dollars for all of that. It just doesn’t feel like a normal life.

Speaking about internal decisions at Team Secret, Ivanov admitted that one of the mixes turned out to be a failure. He pointed out the lack of discipline and clear role distribution, emphasizing that bringing Michal Nisha Jankowski back to the carry position was a mistake. He also separately highlighted the roster update after the departures of Ludwig zai Wahlberg and Lasse MATUMBAMAN Aukusti.

We weren’t honest with ourselves. Nisha should have said: ‘Screw this, I’m not playing carry.’ I would have fully supported him. Instead, we ended up with a lazy roster without synergy. When Crystallis and Zayac joined, you could immediately see that these guys were hungry. Then Resolut1on joined, and everything came together.

Talking about the future, Puppey admitted that in the current financial reality Team Secret cannot afford a competitive roster on the level of top clubs, but he does not rule out the possibility of reviving the tag.

Team Secret can’t build a proper roster with the salaries that exist in Dota right now. There’s no point in putting together a broken mix that won’t go anywhere. Either I try once again to create a truly strong team, or I might move into coaching. I don’t want to play just for the sake of playing. If I come back, it’s only with the goal of being at the top again.

Recall that Team Secret disbanded in early July after failed qualifiers for Riyadh Masters 2025 and The International 2025. Previously, the tag frequently placed highly at major tournaments, including third place at The International 2021, second place at The International 2022, and a championship title at The Shanghai Major 2016, among others.

Puppey is currently a coach of PARIVISION, but was registered only for DreamLeague Season 27, where the team finished in third place. It is currently unknown whether he will remain with the team going forward.

Earlier, Cyberscore reported that Team Spirit captain Nikita Panto Balaganin spoke about the reasons behind the team’s defeat in the grand final of DreamLeague Season 27.