Team Secret yesterday took to Twitter to announce a partnership with NVIDIA GeForce.
On the eve of the #KievMajor we are delighted to announce our new partnership with @NVIDIAGeForce! ? pic.twitter.com/jv1ebZlXoz
— Team Secret (@teamsecret) April 23, 2017
Although no further details have been revealed, it’s safe to assume that the partnership will see NVIDIA graphics cards, specifically the GeForce GTX 10 Series being used by all Team Secret players that compete on PC-based esports titles.
Currently Secret house the number one female team in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Hearthstone, Super Smash Bros, Street Fighter, Dota 2, Vainglory and Clash. Their Dota 2 team have started the Kiev Major strongly with a resounding two games to zero victory as they look to put in a good performance in their return after significant absence from the global stage.
Team Secret have had a somewhat controversial past, with effervescent Dota 2 player Jacky ‘EternalEnvy’ Mao repeatedly calling out the organisation for dishonesty, lack of contracts and underpayment. Whilst one of the main alleged perpetrators, Turkish businessman Kemal Sadikoglu, has since left the organisation questions remain over whether or not prior payments with Dota squads of old were actually settled.
Since the fracas, this is the first partnership deal that Team Secret have announced as a brand. It’s not the first for one of their players, though. Julia “juliano” Kiran, the Swede represented by Orlando John was recently sponsored by OMEN by HP. The deal recently saw her speak at HP’s EMEA Retail Forum.
Should the Dota 2 team continue to do well in the Kiev Major and achieve a high finish it may well open the door for more sponsors. There was a point that Secret were arguably considered the biggest names in the Dota scene although since then there has been undoubted damage to the reputation.
Esports Insider says: Good news for Secret and NVIDIA. Obviously not NVIDIA’s first foray into esports as they’re fairly endemic but always good to see partnerships spring up.