“To whichever team that’s brave enough to contest us, thanks for the extra four points.” 

These were the words uttered cheekily by Uhigh, the youngest member of Team Secret PUBG Mobile. Although he obviously expressed it in good fun on behalf of the team, it’s a reflection of the Malaysian squad’s readiness for the PUBG Mobile World League (PMWL) Spring Split 2020 Season Zero East Division, a departure from their usual cautious demeanour. 

Here are the stars of Team Secret PUBG Mobile:

• Kow "BiuBiu" Jiunn Jie
• Aekachai "MADTOI" Areesanan
• Raymond Tan "iShotz" Boon Sheng
• Muhammad Dhiya Ulhaq “Uhigh” Mohd Arasz
• Asyam "Rex" Allam

“Based on the team’s progress and preparations for PMWL 2020, I would say we’re more prepared than before,” said captain Kow "BiuBiu" Jiunn Jie. He later clarified that it’s impossible to be 100% ready for every single scenario because anything could happen in the tournament. After all, it is still wise to be vigilant, and Team Secret PUBG Mobile knows better than to underestimate 19 of the world’s best teams across the Eastern Hemisphere.

“It’s hard to pinpoint one team that would give us the toughest time in the World League,” said the team’s designated sniper, Raymond Tan "iShotz" Boon Sheng. “Everyone is here because they are the best in their own region or country.” Even though it’s wise to not get cocky and be wary of every single team, Team Secret manager Partibhan “OnTheGo” Petchiappan has faith in not only his team but Malaysian PUBG Mobile pro players in general, including the country’s other representative, Yoodo Gank. 

Related: Yoodo Gank - Raising the bar with PMWL 2020

“Both Team Secret and Yoodo Gank will definitely reach the top five,” OnTheGo predicted, saying that both teams are polar opposites yet equally strong in terms of gameplay. He noticed that teams from the same country generally have similar strategies, but the pair of Malaysian teams couldn’t be any more different from each other in their tactics, making it tricky for other teams to anticipate their thought process. “If Yoodo Gank doesn’t make it to the top three, then Team Secret will,” and vice versa.

The PMWL 2020 East caster believed that Bigetron RA, RRQ Athena and TSM Entity would contest aggressively with Team Secret for the top spot. “Teams from India are exceptionally strong, and the most consistent of the bunch is TSM Entity,” OnTheGo opined, singling out Jonathan and ClutchGod as the reasons why “TSM’s firepower is super good”. For the other two teams, Bigetron RA has lived up to its name as the current PUBG Mobile world champions so “we definitely can’t put them aside”; and RRQ Athena has been a constant threat in every tournament they’ve entered, with Beer11 making RRQ’s gameplay feel so fresh.

Speaking of fresh, Team Secret recently shook things up internally with the inclusion of a fifth member, in the form of Asyam "Rex" Allam. When the team was hosting tryouts with multiple candidates via scrims, one particular applicant suddenly dropped out right before their trial match, prompting the boys to hastily look for another. It so happened that Uhigh remembered stumbling upon Rex’s gameplay uploads while scrolling through Instagram, not to mention that the 16-year-old was impressed by Rex’s play style. Thus, he suggested to the other members to include him in the selection process, which paid off handsomely.

There was a specific series of scrims that was especially tough for the team, but when Rex played with the team, they scored Winner Winner Chicken Dinners multiple times. But, what sealed the deal was when OnTheGo had a deep conversation with the entry fragger to ascertain his attitude. “He’s hard-working, but most importantly, he’s an extremely humble guy who’s also a good listener, something that our team could use more of. It was serendipity that we discovered a talent like Rex.” 

It wasn’t only OnTheGo and the other members of Team Secret that were happy to have him on board (“He’s a great addition to the team,” said BiuBiu) - Rex was just as thrilled to be recruited. “I still have a lot more to learn, but I’m glad and honoured to be part of a prestigious team like Team Secret and improve with them,” the PUBG Mobile fledgeling player said. 

It’s fortunate that the Malaysian PUBG Mobile team was able to have their bootcamp and compete together in their gaming house (alas, without MADTOI, due to COVID-19 circumstances). “We can finally see each other and joke around, so the team momentum has been pretty good,” said coach Muhammad Farhan “JangS” Abdul Gafar, who’s looking forward to seeing how the team would adapt to the higher-stakes PMWL 2020. “No matter the results, I’ll definitely be there to support them.”

As for what advice OnTheGo has to offer the team, he had this to say: “Stay focused, and remember why we’re here - to prove that we deserve to be in PMWL 2020. Let’s win it together!”

The Opening Weekend of PMWL 2020 East Division didn’t kick off last night (10 July) as intended, due to PUBG Mobile constantly crashing on iOS. But, rest assured that the tournament will commence tonight (11 July) at 8 PM (GMT +8). Be sure to stay tuned to the official PUBG Mobile Facebook page for timely updates on PMWL 2020.