Kiritych explained the reasons for Team Secret’s failure in the qualifiers

Team Secret stand-in Ilya Kiritych Ulyanov shared his thoughts on the team’s failed runs in the qualifiers for The International 2025 and Riyadh Masters 2025. According to him, both fatigue and lack of preparation time prevented him from performing at his best.

Ulyanov explained that the roster was formed just a few days before the open qualifiers started, and after DreamLeague Season 26, he didn’t get a single day to rest properly.

After DreamLeague, there was no time to recover — straight into qualifiers, traveling, scrims. At some point, I realized I was burnt out. It definitely affected my gameplay.

Kiritych also admitted he lacked emotional energy, which contributed to the team’s loss in the deciding match against Yellow Submarine.

We lost the match that meant everything. It really hurt, because these are the tournaments you aim for every year. Missing out leaves you feeling empty.

Kiritych joined Team Secret in early June. Before that, he played for BetBoom Team at DreamLeague Season 26, replacing Ivan Pure Moskalenko. The team finished second and earned $130,000 — the best result in Ulyanov’s career at a major tournament.

However, Secret failed to qualify for both major events of the season. They missed out on Riyadh Masters 2025 while competing in the MESWA region, and then lost the Western Europe qualifier for The International 2025. It seems likely that Kiritych will part ways with the team after these results.

Earlier, CyberScore.live reported that No[o]ne challenged Satanic to a $100,000 bet.