March left T1, Kuku and Xepher will follow

While Carlo “Kuku” Palad and Kenny “Xepher” Deo declared they are exploring new possibilities, T1 formally removed coach Park “March” Tae from its Dota 2 roster.

Dota 2 teams begin rearranging their squads every year after the biggest and most prestigious event of the season The International concludes. Although TI11 hasn’t ended yet, a lot of teams, particularly those who were predicted to do well, have already begun to make roster adjustments. T1 has parted ways with head coach Park “March” Tae-won following a dismal TI11 campaign. Xepher also announced that he has been released from the organization and that he is looking for a new team for next season, mentioning that he is willing to relocate if necessary. 

 

Carlo “Kuku” Palad, the captain of T1, has followed their lead and said on Facebook that he will be looking for other opportunities after his contract with T1 expires. Kuku said in a statement that was published on Twitter that he would be willing to talk to T1 about his contract while looking for a new team. Xepher, who is open to relocating for the upcoming season, appears to be more inclined to leave the Southeast Asian team. The T1 Dota 2 roster, on the other hand, is anticipated to be finalized in the upcoming month before the start of the new DPC season in December. 

T1 roster

• Anathan “ana-” Pham
• Topias Miikka “Topson” Taavitsainen
• Carlo “KuKu” Palad
• Kenny “Xepher” Deo
• Mattew “Whitemon” Filemon

TI11 puts an end T1’s star-studded roster

The Korean team enjoyed a prosperous DPC 2021 campaign, finishing third at the WePlay Animajor and winning the ESL One Summer 2021 shortly after. The team’s success fell off in 2022, though, as they had a lackluster LAN tournament run at the ESL One Stockholm Major. Due to a lack of DPC points, the Southeast Asian team was turned away from the PGL Arlington Major and had to compete in the dreadful TI11 Regional Qualifier.

In an effort to restore its position as one of the top teams in the SEA after the team was unable to obtain a direct invitation, T1 replaced Gabbi and Karl “Karl” Baldovino with Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen and Anathan “ana” Pham, two former OG superstars. Although this version of T1 was strong enough to travel to Singapore, following a sluggish start in the group stage, concerns started to surround them. T1 made it beyond the LCQ group stage, however, the Korean team was eliminated from the competition following a 2:1 loss to ViCi Gaming and a 2:0 sweep by Team Secret in the upper bracket semifinals.

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