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Dota 2: Fnatic are relegated to Division II in SEA

It seems that the SEA region is much stronger than we previously thought. Or perhaps Fnatic simply became a... Radu M. | 28. January 2023

It seems that the SEA region is much stronger than we previously thought. Or perhaps Fnatic simply became a lot weaker after losing their captain to Talon Esports. Anucha “Jabz” Jirawong was known to be one of the team’s best players and his skills as captain are very hard to replace.

Another big loss for Fnatic was the departure of Marc “Raven” Fausto, who got signed by Blacklist International. After his departure, Fnatic replaced him with Kim “Gabbi” Santos. Jabz was replaced by Damien “kpii” Chok. But it seems that these two players are not strong enough to replace the ones who left.

Fnatic’s troubles in SEA

Fnatic’s problems began at the start of the first Tour. The team lost six consecutive matches and was relegated to Division II. Something similar happened to BOOM Esports. One thing to keep in mind is that both of these teams participated in The International 11.

Fnatic will likely change a few players soon, but not before giving the current roster the opportunity to redeem itself. Division II in Southeast Asia should be a lot easier than Division I, which means that Fnatic are likely to be back to the first division after Tour 2.

However, even if they get good results, they are almost guaranteed to miss the top 12 and that means they will have to win the regional qualifiers to go to The International 2023. At this point it’s very likely that the team will miss the event this season.

The situation in the region

The SEA region is currently dominated by an unlikely team: Execration. Among the top participants we also find Geek Slate, which is another team full of unknown players. Meanwhile, Talon Esports and Blacklist International are in the top four but are struggling to secure a spot at the Lima Major.

The battle for third place will be decided by a tiebreaker. The team that loses the last match of the competition will need to play against Talon for this spot. It will be either Blacklist International or Geek Slate. For the sake of having a great Major, let’s hope that BI will beat Geek Slate and then Talon will do the same.

If that doesn’t happen, SEA will likely send just one experienced team to the Lima Major. Execration might be strong regionally but they have no hope at the international level at this point. They need a lot more experience.

Header: Fnatic