After a period without a full roster, one of 2016’s most successful Dota 2 teams will once again field an impressive team.
Following a period of poor results, Fnatic has recruited former MVP Phoenix mid laner Kim “QO” Seon-yeop, Singaporean carry player Galvin “Meracle” Kang Jian Wen, and former Fnatic support Djardel “DJ” Jicko B. Mampusti. The three players will be joining original Fnatic off laner Chong Xin “Ohaiyo” Khoo and recent support addition Kim “Febby” Yong-min.
The additions of DJ and QO mark something of a reunion for the players who remained from Fnatic’s previous roster. Both QO and Febby competed on MVP Phoenix during 2016. The same can also be said for DJ and Ohaiyo, who reached multiple top-four placements at some of the biggest events of 2016.
But despite these performances, Fnatic entered a period of decline following the International 6, as several roster changes saw the team’s performances suffer. The final blow to the team’s previous roster came when the team’s mid laner Muhammad “inYourdreaM” Rizky departed the roster after less than a week—which prompted Chai “Mushi” Yee Fung to leave the organization after nearly two years.
Now, however, the team features what could be considered a Southeast Asian superteam, as all players are considered to be top players within the region. The only player on the squad that hasn’t placed highly at an international LAN event is Meracle. Nonetheless, Meracle has long been considered one of the region’s strongest individual players, and came close to qualifying to the Kiev Major on March 9.
As the results of both Fnatic and MVP Phoenix began to suffer towards the end of 2016, the region has been dominated by Team Faceless, which consists of Singaporean Dota 2 veteran Daryl “iceiceice” Koh, as well as German hard carry player Dominik “Black^” Reitmeier.
After two months on the sidelines, Fnatic is looking poised to return to the top of Southeast Asia.
