Puppey pops up on NAVI’s roster for Dota 2 qualifier, fueling reunion rumors

Clement “Puppey” Ivanov, one of Team Secret’s founding members, has been with the organization since its inception. But in a recent post on FaceIt, Puppey’s former team, NAVI, showcased him as an active roster member, leading to speculation about the player’s future.

In a recent Reddit post, Puppey appeared on NAVI’s active roster page, which led to a discussion on forum sites. Puppey’s Team Secret roster has seen numerous reshuffles throughout the last decade, but if there was one mainstay on the team, it was Captain Puppey himself.

Since Puppey could not play TI13, the idea that he could be playing for his old TI3 team surprised some players, while others were hyped by this possibility.

The current NAVI roster is composed of Artem “Yuragi” Golubiev, Sukhbat “sanctity-” Otgondavaa, Dmytro “Nefrit” Tarasych, Bakyt “W_Zayac” Emilzhanov, and Arman “Malady” Orazbayev. If Puppey could potentially replace anyone, it would be Malady, their position five player, since Puppey has been a position five mainstay for over a decade.

NAVI’s roster page on FaceIt supports that claim since Puppey seems to be playing as their position five for now. Whether this position is permanent or temporary is unknown since neither NAVI nor Team Secret has released an official confirmation.

Puppey’s future in the pro Dota 2 scene is currently uncertain, and it remains to be seen whether this move will lead to a career resurgence for the player and NAVI as a whole. We will keep you updated as we learn more about the situation.

Update, Sept. 23 at 4:58pm: Team Secret has confirmed Puppey is standing in for NAVI while it locks in its roster for the run home this year. “Team Secret is coming back and as we put the finishing touches on our roster, El Presidente is going to warm up with some old friends!” the organization said on X/Twitter.