Team SMG reveals its Dota 2 roster

Lee “CDR” Jia Hea and Marvin “Xavius” Rushton round out SMG’s Dota 2 roster for the 2023 DPC season.

Dota 2 organizations from around the world are scrambling to finish their roster in time as the deadline for roster registration approaches. Adding two new players to its Dota 2 roster, Team SMG is the latest team to join the list. The Southeast Asian organization has acquired Lee “CDR” Jia He and Marvin “Xavius” Rushton to complete its Dota 2 roster for the upcoming Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) season.

Team SMG’s Dota 2 roster for the 2022-2023 SEA DPC:

• Lee “CDR” Jia He
• Kam “MooN” Boon Seng
• Yeik “MidOne” Nai Zheng
• Tue “​ah fu” Soon Chuan
• Marvin “Xavius” Rushton

Team SMG will try to make up for its embarrassing 2022 DPC season

With a consistent top-four finish in the SEA regional league, Team SMG registered a successful DPC season in 2021–2022. However, the organization came under fire after controversially removing Michael “ninjaboogie” Ross Jr from the team. The organization acquired veteran offlaner Daryl “iceiceice” Koh and support Wilson “poloson” Koh before the International 2022 qualifiers. The team’s efforts were for nothing, however, since it was unable to register its complete roster in time before the deadline, losing the last chance to attend TI11. Yap “Kenchi Yap” Chee Loong resigned from his role as CEO as a result, bringing about more internal changes inside the organization.

The first addition to the team, CDR is an up-and-coming talent with ties to popular teams like Phoenix Gaming and Eternal Gaming, The Malaysian player also filled in for Team SMG during BTS Pro Series Season 12, aiding the group in finishing in the top four at the online competition. On the other hand, Xavius is an accomplished Dota 2 player who has participated in illustrious events like the MDL Chengdu Major and the WePlay AniMajor and also won the APAC Predator League in Japan.

The Filipino veteran recently finished a successful run with Polaris Esports, who advanced to the main event of The International 11 after an outstanding showing in the Last Chance Qualifiers.  Polaris exceeded all expectations during the group stage to earn a spot in the upper bracket. Unfortunately, the team was eliminated in the playoffs after receiving heartbreaking losses to Teams Liquid and Wild Card Gaming. With the inclusion of fresh talent and a recognized veteran, Team SMG’s new Dota 2 squad appears all set to dominate the Southeast Asian scene. The squad will compete against Fnatic, BOOM Esports, Talon Esports, and Blacklist International in Division I of the SEA DPC in the upcoming season.

Header: Team SMG