iceiceice isn’t with Team Secret for Riyadh Masters, here’s why

Fans of Daryl “iceiceice” Xiang will be sad to hear that he will not be appearing with Team Secret at Riyadh Masters.

Fan-favorite offlaner iceiceice will not be attending Riyadh Masters 2022 with Team Secret. Fellow Dota 2 veteran Roman “Resolut1on” Fomynok will take his place in the offlane. The exact reason is not known yet, but iceiceice’s absence could be linked to multiple restrictions affecting travel. Four players have already bowed out of Riyadh Masters, a $4 million Saudi Arabian tournament.

Team Secret announced its new roster via social media just two days before the event is set to begin. This indicates that it was a last-minute issue affecting iceiceice’s attendance. However, the squad was quick to announce that Resolut1on would be able to stand in. Though currently a free agent, Resolut1on now has an opportunity to take a slice of the $1.5 million Riyadh Masters grand prize.

Resolut1on is a frequent face in the European Dota 2 scene. His flexible core skills helped Digital Chaos earn second place at The International 2016, winning $3,427,126. Reso most recently played professionally with HellRaisers in the Eastern European Dota Pro Circuit. He also made an appearance at The International 10 All-Star Match as part of the Russian talent team.

Team Secret Riyadh Masters 2022 Dota 2 roster

With the absence of iceiceice, Team Secret will field the following roster at Riyadh Masters 2022:

• Remco “Crystallis” Arets
• Michał “Nisha” Jankowski
• Roman “Resolut1on” Fomynok
• Baqyt “Zayac” Emiljanov
• Clement “Puppey” Ivanov
• Lee “Heen” Seung Gon (Coach)

Riyadh Masters loses 33, MATUMBAMAN, and iceiceice

Neither Team Secret nor iceiceice have revealed the reason for the absence, but either health, travel, or political issues have contributed to a number of withdrawals. Multiple players are unable to attend the $4 million tournament in Saudi Arabia. Here’s a short list of them with teams and subs:

• Abdimalik “Malik” Sailau for Gleb “Funn1k” Lipatnikov (Deboosters)
• Anathan “ana” Pham for Lasse “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen (Team Liquid)
• Nikita “Daxak” Kuzmin for Neta “33” Shapira (Tundra Esports)
• Resolut1on for iceiceice (Team Secret)

The most notable replacement is Malik for Funn1k, who is unable to travel to Saudi Arabia from Ukraine. The Tundra Esports and Team Liquid replacements were confirmed without further explanation.