MSI 2026 Team Review: Team Secret Whales Achieved History by Defeating Top Esports
Vietnam has always produced teams that punch above their weight at international events. GAM Esports is the most notable of them. Team Secret Whales added themselves to that list at MSI. They became the first APAC team to win a best-of-five series against an LPL team. They did it by beating Top Esports in the Lower Bracket. Unfortunately, they could not continue their journey, but they made everyone take notice.
Team Secret Whales MSI Results
TSW played three series at MSI. They ended with one win and two losses in the Bracket Stage.
- Lost 3-0 to Hanwha Life Esports
- Won 3-1 against Top Esports
- Lost 3-0 to LYON
Team Secret Whales Player Review
Pun
- Total Apex Rating – 5.8 (6th among top laners, tied 27th among players)
- Champions Played
- Sion (2)
- Volibear
- Jax
- Olaf
- Ornn
- Renekton
- Sett
- Yorick
Pun announced himself on the international stage at MSI. The Volibear in game three against Hanwha Life Esports will give the Korean team nightmares. After getting a couple of kills in a skirmish, he took control of the game. Even with his team behind, Pun held the line for a while. He had another decent performance on Volibear against LYON. He brought out the Sett against Top Esports and dominated once more. He was a bit more muted for the rest of the games.
Hizto
- Total Apex Rating – 5.1 (tied 8th among junglers, tied 37th among players)
- Champions Played
- Lee Sin (3)
- Naafiri (3)
- Xin Zhao (2)
- Dr. Mundo
- Jarvan IV
Hizto being in control of the game for TSW was often where they found their success. When he was not allowed to play his game, TSW struggled. The series versus Top Esports was the perfect example of this. The only game that they lost in the series was game two. He went for an early invade on Tian’s blue buff, but the play failed. With him behind, TSW could never fight back against TES.
Dire
- Total Apex Rating – 4.1 (10th among mid laners, 50th among players)
- Champions Played
- Aurora (2)
- Ryze (2)
- Sylas (2)
- Hwei
- Orianna
- Vex
- Viktor
For the third international event in a row, Dire did not show up. He had middling performances, even when TSW beat TES. Often he was either a cost or he rarely impacted his team’s wins. He was better against TES, but still had a weak Viktor performance in the game four victory. If TSW wants to compete consistently at an international level, he needs to raise his game.
Eddie
- Total Apex Rating – 5.0 (8th among bot laners, tied 39th among players)
- Champions Played
- Caitlyn (3)
- Ezreal (2)
- Jhin
- Kai’Sa
- Miss Fortune
- Senna
- Sivir
The best way to describe Eddie’s performance at MSI was solid. He was not a cost, but also not that impactful for his team when they lost. Often the map would explode without him being around to contribute. He got to show some of his best plays against TES once his team had control of the rift.
Bie
- Total Apex Rating – 4.4 (10th among supports, 48th among players
- Champions Played
- Elise (3)
- Bard (2)
- Karma (2)
- Nautilus (2)
- Rell
Bie had good mechanics on Elise; he helped TSW in the early game. The Cocoon prediction on Dhokla was clean. However, he often took kills as Elise. While gold helps Elise stay relevant, he did not need as many kills as he took. His Nautilus performance against TES was his best of the tournament. The Bard, on the other hand, was not impressive, as his Tempered Fates either missed or were mistimed.
Team Secret Whales Team Review
If you had told TSW before MSI that they would beat an LPL team, they would have been happy. That is by far and away their highlight of the tournament. After seeing their loss to LYON, many might have been less excited about the team. However, LYON showed that they are a formidable opponent by beating G2 Esports and taking HLE to five games. TSW had to face the MSI champions and the third-placed team. They can hang their heads high after the tournament. There are places that they can improve, and it is exciting to see how they will do for the rest of the year.
More MSI Content
Below is some of the previous MSI content on Total Apex, for the team reviews.
