Puppey and Parker to stand-in for Edge in PGL Wallachia Season 5

This marks the first time that Puppey will play for a team outside of Team Secret and NAVI.

Legendary Dota 2 veteran and The International (TI) champion, Clement “Puppey” Ivanov, alongside rising Peruvian star, David Nicho “Parker” Flores, have been confirmed as stand-ins for South American team Edge at the upcoming PGL Wallachia Season 5.

Edge received a last-minute invitation to the million-dollar tournament following the withdrawal of MOUZ, who forfeited after a poor run in the TI 2025 Western Europe (WEU) qualifiers. With two vacant slots on Edge’s roster, the team has recruited  Team Secret’s captain, Puppey and brought Parker from Secret’s inactive bench to fill the gaps.

This marks a rare move for Puppey, who has represented only two teams—Natus Vincere (NAVI) and Team Secret—since 2011. The veteran captain has also only substituted for a team once before. He substituted for NAVI in October last year during the second edition of the PGL Wallachia series and helped them secure an impressive 4th place finish.

Puppey holds a storied career that includes multiple podium finishes at The International and several major championships. As one of the biggest icons in Dota 2 esports, his presence in Edge will certainly turn heads during this fifth iteration of PGL Wallachia.

Young Peruvian stalwart Parker will also join Puppey in this stand-in run. The 22-year old found his breakthrough performance with HEROIC last year, winning PGL Wallachia Season 2 and defeating then-favorites Team Falcons on the final stage. This victory also etched Parker into the history books, as it was the first-ever international tournament won by a South American team.

However, following an internal conflict within HEROIC shortly after, Parker joined Team Secret in February this year. Unfortunately, results were bleak, and Parker was moved to the inactive roster. 

Joining from the bench, Parker will comfortably return to play alongside his South American comrades, potentially bringing added synergy to the lineup. The two Secret players will join Jeanpierre “PiPi” Valente, Pablo “Vitaly” Angulo, and Miguel “Michael~” Gomez to compete against 15 other noteworthy teams in PGL Wallachia Season 5.

With two of Team Secret’s top talents joining Edge, all eyes will be on this last-minute lineup to see whether they can bring some spice to the competition.

Edge’s Dota 2 roster for PGL Wallachia S5:

1. David Nicho “Parker” Flores (stand-in)
2. Jeanpierre “PiPi” Valente
3. Pablo “Vitaly” Angulo
4. Miguel “Michael~” Gomez
5. Clement “Puppey” Ivanov (stand-in)

The final checkpoint before the Dota 2 Esports World Cup

PGL Wallachia Season 5 marks the final major event on the Dota 2 competitive calendar before the highly-anticipated Esports World Cup (EWC) 2025's Dota 2 tournament kicks off in July. The fifth installment of the PGL Wallachia series will showcase high-tier action featuring 16 invited teams. 

On top of the usual stakes, what makes the tournament crucial is that it serves as a preview of team performances that will form fan expectations ahead of the global showdown in Riyadh.

PGL Wallachia S5 begins on 21 June with a fast-paced Swiss-system group stage, followed by the Playoffs starting on 26 June. The tournament will conclude with the Grand Finals on 28 June. The winning team will take home a massive US$350,000 prize along with the prestigious title of the next Wallachia champions.

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