The scene in SEA Dota 2 has always been fun to watch because it’s full of surprises. Even though the region is yet to win a TI, over the years there have been a few teams that were among the best in the world.
Speaking of the best, some Dota 2 fans expected T1 to become the leading name in this field. The legendary League of Legends organization stepped into the Dota 2 scene and got some of the best players in the field. Among them were Karl “Karl” Baldovino and Kim “Gabbi” Villafuerte, two of the most recognizable names in SEA Dota 2.
Even though he was instrumental for the team, these players were unable to help T1 qualify for major international events. Needless to say, the team will miss TI 11 which is why it decided it was time for a change.
Karl and Gabby are out
All good things come to an end.️🤍
Today we announce the departure of ‘Karl’ and ‘Gabbi’ from our DOTA2 roster.
Thank you for everything you’ve done and we wish them all the very best for the future!#T1WIN #T1fight pic.twitter.com/saTS4cU0PV
— T1 (@T1) 11 August 2022
Karl and Gabby are no longer a part of T1 after a disappointing performance. This decision is strange, to say the least, considering the fact that the TI 11 qualifiers at SEA are just around the corner.
Gabby became part of the new roster ahead of the start of this year’s DPC, when he was replaced by Nuenganara “23Savage” Teramahnon. For Karl, the popular player was a part of the team for almost 2 years.
Even though these two players have proved themselves many times, T1 have only 273 DPC points, which is not enough to earn an invitation to TI. As expected, the team wants to do everything in their power to participate in this event, and it seems that it all starts with the roster change.
Since T1 announced the departure of these players a few hours ago, we don’t know what will happen next for them. However, because they are well known in the industry, it is probably only a matter of time before we see them on another roster.
crew
After the change and the departure of Gabby and Carl, T1’s roster looks like this:
- Carlo “Kuku” Palado
- Kenny “Zepher” Dev
- Matthew “Whitemon” Filmmon
- Park “March” Tae-won (coach)
March has always been one of the popular players in this part of the world, so we wouldn’t be surprised if he decides to compete again. However, this meant that T1 would have to find a new coach.
Interestingly, there are a number of top-tier Dota 2 players available at the moment, so T1 has plenty of options to choose from. The team may decide to do something similar to OG and get young and talented players. However, we can also see some of the most popular names, such as Topias “Topsan” Tavitsanen and Anatan “Ana” Pham.
Anna has already featured in a few events, including the PGL Arlington Major 2022. Topson, on the other hand, announced that he wanted to return to professional Dota and compete again.
Qualifiers for TI should start around September, so we have a few more weeks to see what happens. Who knows, T1 could turn out to be one of the best teams in Southeast Asia.
