Talon Esports was one of the first organizations to dive into the free agent pool for the post-International 2022 roster shuffle, releasing its two oldest players in preparation for a quick turnaround. And, in its finishing move to complete a lineup for the 2023 Dota Pro Circuit, Talon ripped the heart and soul out of Invictus Gaming.
In his first move since Sept. 2019, Chan “Oli” Chon Kien has left iG and joined Talon as the team’s new position five support player.
This move, paired with bringing in Jabz from Fnatic, infuses Talon’s younger core with a pair of dynamic, veteran leaders to help steady their play in tough moments.
For iG, this is a big blow, but likely one they can recover from as China goes through a massive shuffle between some of the bigger orgs.
Oli joined iG post-TI8 alongside Emo and turned the team into a force within China over the course of a few years, helping lead them to a fourth-place finish at TI10 after several other pieces fell into place for the team. But, last year saw a slightly revamped roster struggle to remain relevant in the region—dropping into Division II for the DPC regional league and missing out on every aspect of TI11.
Some form of change was likely coming to the roster over the next month or so as management looks to improve, but seeing the first domino to fall be one of the two players who helped form this roster is surprising.
As for Oli, this is his first move out of China since joining iG in 2018 and it is a return to Southeast Asia—his home region where he got his start with Geek Fam in 2017.
With a young core, Talon reached TI11 in the org’s first season competing in Dota, however, things fell apart early as they exited in a tie for 17th place.
With this move, Talon is betting on Oli’s experience from the last several seasons in a much more competitive region and TI success pairing well with Jabz in leading the rest of Talon’s young roster.
