Honor of Kings made its global debut on June 20, 2024. Months before its international launch, Level Infinite gained ground by holding its inaugural Honor of Kings Invitational Season 1 in February.
It was during that time when esports general manager Kelvin Pang Ching Kuen was called up by Team Secret’s CEO, John Yao.
His task? Put together the best Honor of Kings roster for the organization.
Known for their widely successful Dota 2 roster that finished third at The International 2021 and second at The International 2022, Team Secret fields pro teams in Valorant, League of Legends, Rocket League, and Rainbow Six Siege.
Venturing freshly into Honor of Kings, the organization had to once again start from ground zero. The first person that they turned to was Kelvin. Speaking to ONE Esports at the Esports World Cup 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, he tells us how the roster was formed and what responsibilities he carries out as General Manager.
For Team Secret’s Honor of Kings roster, it all started with the general manager
An esports general manager is responsible for overseeing and coordinating various aspects of an esports organization such as team management, strategic planning, budgeting and finance, marketing and promotion, and player support to name a few.
In Kelvin’s words, he sees himself as someone who goes about “finding the right people, the right players, and the right backroom staff to make the dream happen.”
With over 20 years of experience in the gaming and esports industry, he has established accomplished rosters for Orange Esports, Team SMG, and even Malaysia’s national esports team, which is why he felt confident in this new venture with Team Secret.
The first thing he did was put up a recruitment notice in Honor of Kings community groups. He spoke with potential players, managers, and coaches over video calls to get to know them better, asking them about their vision, their goals, and their desires. If they align with Team Secret’s vision, he will do his best to turn those aspirations into a reality.
Because he has worked with so many pro players over the years, he trusts his intuition and the recruitment process. He’s able to tell what type of player they are within the first five minutes of the conversation, and subsequently how to manage them and their expectations.
“Whenever I go into a room, there’s an aura. I sense something, I feel something. So I’ll ask my friend who is a sports psychologist and say, ‘Hey, ‘I’m feeling this vibe [from my players]. Can you scientifically prove this is happening?’ Most of the time, these spidey senses are true,” shared Kelvin.
The team manager and head coach were the first to be recruited. They had a few pieces of the puzzle in place already and even though there were risks involved, Kelvin trusted him with the roster’s foundations. It was most important to him that they establish a good team culture because it has a long-term effect on mental conditioning.
The Team Secret Honor of Kings roster was finalized in April 2024. The players moved into a gaming house to live and train under one roof. Kelvin believes that only by living together would their teamwork and synergy grow, for solving in-game and real life problems demands that players develop effective resolution skills.
“In China, we were walking around thinking of what to eat. If it takes so long for them to make a decision about food, imagine what happens in-game! I usually use real life examples to get my message through,” he shared.
At the Honor of Kings Invitational 2024 Season 2 in May, Team Secret narrowly lost to LGD Gaming 2-3 to take second place. At the Honor of Kings Invitational Midseason 2024 that was held as part of the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, they were eliminated by All Gamers Global in the quarterfinals, finishing in 5th-8th place.
“To be fair, we are only four months old. It’s not the end of the day,” said Kelvin. “[So far before this] everything was too smooth. It’s not good because you can’t identify what went wrong. So I think this is a blessing in disguise. I am hoping everyone learns from this setback. I’m not immune. I have emotions as well, but I need to be that pillar of strength at this point in time.”
At 42 years old, Kelvin is looking towards the future and the possibility of passing on his knowledge to the next generation of general managers. For him it’s not merely about transferring skills, but also about instilling leadership qualities that have defined his successful esports career.
“It all starts with the way you approach life. The most important thing is being a decent human being. From there, you can go many places. Whatever habits that you have, it starts from home,” said Kelvin.
“When the players first moved into the gaming house, the first thing they have to do when they wake up is to make their bed. If they cannot complete this task, what else can they complete? So that struck a
nerve,” he shared. “Results matter, prize money is great. But I think the journey of becoming a
better person [is most satisfying].”
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