It’s a tragic day for the Southeast Asian Dota 2 as another esports org leaves the scene.
Blacklist International announced the disband of their Dota 2 division, following an underwhelming season. This is quite the understatement, considering Blacklist has the roster to be one of the better SEA Dota 2 teams.
Blacklist International signs off from Dota 2 Esports (Image credit: Blacklist International)
Blacklist International’s Disband
In the announcement, Blacklist shared that the Dota 2 division, a collaboration with Rivalry for the past two years, will be disbanded. Throughout which, Blacklist has made several notable accomplishments, with their players, featuring:
- John “Natsumi-” Vargas
- Abed “Abed” Yusop
- Kim “Gabbi” Santos
- Timothy John “TIMS” Randrup
- Jaunuel “Jaunuel” Arcilla
For instance, they represented the SEA region at ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023, Elite League Season 1 and more recently, Riyadh Masters 2024. It goes without saying that Blacklist’s line-up was still formidable in its region, often qualifying for SEA regional qualifiers.
After two years of working with Rivalry to bring Blacklist to the Dota scene, this chapter of our history is coming to a close.
Our redemption story has been followed by the community in all our ups and downs. From the first version of our squad when we brought together the… pic.twitter.com/nJa4nDXuLT
— BLACKLIST INTERNATIONAL 🌸 (@BLACKLISTINTL) September 18, 2024
Where will Blacklist International’s Dota 2 roster go?
While Blacklist has made some notable accomplishments throughout this tenure, the potential from this stack should have been much higher than merely participation at major Dota 2 tournaments.
This roster has no shortage of talents, especially with household names such as Abed, Gabbi and Tims, who have a history of competing at the International Championships. Notably, Abed was a high-profile mid player, who was renowned for his Storm Spirit during his time with the North American powerhouse, Evil Geniuses. Gabbi is also a consistent offlane player while Tims was known for his Earthshaker and Earth Spirit support plays.
Nevertheless, there is no further whereabouts about the Dota 2 roster’s decision to stay together or go their separate ways.
However, before the disband, this Blacklist roster have already qualified for the upcoming PGL Wallachia Season 2. Hence, we can at least expect the Dota 2 line-up to attend under an unsponsored name or even another Esports org if they get signed quickly. The current state of SEA Dota 2 scene is surely not in its prime. Hence, Blacklist is merely one of the many SEA teams that haven’t been performing great.
Hopefully, for the upcoming 2024-2025 season, we would see better SEA teams that could give Aurora, the best performing SEA team at the International 2024, a run for their money.
