TNC Pro Team, one of the biggest esports organizations in the Philippines, is opening a sister team to run alongside its existing Dota 2 squad.
The new lineup is called TNC Tiger, complete with a whole new logo in the same style as the orange phoenix that is seen on TNC’s banner. The team was announced earlier today via their Facebook page, which was created specifically for TNC Tiger. The original roster, now captained by Carlo “Kuku” Palad, will be renamed to TNC Phoenix.
The teaser trailer features Theeban “1437” Siva, known for his time as captain of TNC in the latter half of the 2016-2017 Dota 2 competitive season. The player made an immediate and massive impact on TNC’s results, leading them to the grand finals of the StarLadder i-League Invitational against Team Liquid, second place at Mars Dota 2 League Macau, and third at Galaxy Battles 2017.
He officially left TNC two months ago, after the team expressed a desire to go back to being an all-Filipino squad. It seems that the organization had other plans for him, though—and that he may not have departed TNC after all.
“It’s been a rough month especially with how things ended at TNC Phoenix and putting together this new team—but I’m really looking forward to the brighter future,” said 1437 on Reddit.
TNC Tiger does not yet have players filling the other four slots in the roster. An announcement of the full lineup will be made in the coming days, according to 1437. He also confirmed that TNC Tiger will be based in Southeast Asia, but will be an “international team”.
If TNC Tiger acquires the right mix of personnel, the Southeast Asian Dota 2 scene will definitely become more competitive. Between Mineski, Fnatic, and TNC Phoenix, there’s already several high-level squads contending for Pro Circuit qualifier spots.
