Team SMG parts ways with MooN and poloson

SMG are down to three players after Kam “MooN” Boon Seng and Wilson “poloson” Wei were removed from the active roster. It seems that Yeik “MidOne” Nai Zheng, who joined more than two years ago and is currently the team’s captain, wants to see a drastic improvement in SMG’s results.

Right now, SMG are a top-three team in Southeast Asia, but internationally they’re just not good enough to score any points or win money. This is a big problem because without top-eight results at Dota Pro Circuit Majors, qualifying for The International is not very likely.

SMG’s strengths

SMG’s biggest strength is MidOne. He is by far the most skilled and most accomplished player on the roster. Older Dota 2 fans will remember that MidOne spent three years playing for Team Secret. This happened during 2016 and 2019.

While he was at Secret, he finished twice in fourth place at The International and won several Majors. This was a great time for MidOne and Team Secret but everything came to an end right before the pandemic started.

Initially, people thought that MidOne would continue to get spectacular results. But after he joined OG, things weren’t as rosy as before. In March 2021, he left OG and then joined SMG, where he continues to play to this day. This team has the potential to be one of the best in the region, but it doesn’t have enough top players to be one of the best globally.

All this could change in the coming weeks. It all depends on what SMG decide to do but if they want to remain a force in SEA and have a real chance to win Majors, they will need to bring in two highly skilled players.

Right now, it is doubtful that any of the top active players from the region will want to change their team. Talon Esports are by far the strongest competitor in the region and they had to work really hard to develop a winning playstyle.

Execration is also strong and doesn’t have too many reasons to sell players. The only opportunity could be offered by Blacklist International, whose Dota 2 project has clearly failed. There are several legendary players on their roster and the organization is probably contemplating the possibility of minimizing its losses for 2023.

Header: Team SMG