Blacklist Rivalry part ways with Karl, kpii, and Xepher after disappointing Dota 2 season
The departures come after Blacklist Rivalry missed out on qualifying for The International 2023 after they were swept by Team SMG in the Southeast Asian regional qualifiers.
Filipino Dota 2 team Blacklist Rivalry announced on Wednesday (4 October) that they have parted ways with midlaner Karl "Karl" Baldovino, offlaner Damien "kpii" Chok, and assistant coach Kenny "Xepher" Deo.
The departures come after Blacklist Rivalry missed out on qualifying for The International (TI) 2023, this year's Dota 2 world championship tournament, after they were swept by Team SMG in the grand finals of the tournament's Southeast Asian regional qualifier in late August.
Karl was part of the initial Blacklist Rivalry roster unveiled by the organisation back in November. Meanwhile, kpii and Xepher were later additions, with kpii joining the team in May and Xepher joining in early August.
"Their contributions as part of Blacklist Rivalry will always be remembered and we will cherish the time we had together. We wish Karl, Kpii, and Xepher the best in the next step of their careers," Blacklist Rivaly said in a statement.
In a series of posts in late September, Blacklist Rivaly affirmed its commitment with remaining players Marc Polo "Raven" Fausto, Timothy "Tims" Randrup, and Carlo "Kuku" Palad as well as head coach Adam "343" Shah for the next Dota 2 esports season.
"Shout out to all the fans. We hope you can still bet on us because we're gonna come back again next year. Thank you!" said Kuku.
"I want to thank those who have followed our journey in the last [Dota Pro Circuit] season. We might not have achieved what we truly wanted, but there were so many good experiences and lessons we learned along the way," added Tryke Gutierrez, CEO of Tier One Entertainment, the agency behind Blacklist Rivalry.
A disappointing season for Blacklist Rivalry
There was a lot of hype surrounding Blacklist Rivalry to start the 2023 DPC season, as its fielded a veritable Filipino superteam with Raven, Karl, Kuku, Tims, and Nico "eyyou" Barcelon.
In an interview with Yahoo Esports SEA last December, team captain Tims said Blacklist Rivalry's biggest goal was to "represent the Philippines" in Dota 2's biggest stage at TI. However, the team failed to live up to the lofty expectations set by its star-studded roster.
They had a good start to the Winter Tour but collapsed on the final day of competition, missing out on the Lima Major as a result.
In the Spring Tour, Blacklist Rivalry retooled with the addition of Michael "ninjaboogie" Ross as coach. However, the team only managed a 3-4 record and thus failed to even sniff a spot at the ESL One Berlin Major 2023.
Those disappointing results prompted the departure of eyyou in April, with the team announcing they will also take "a new direction" away from their original plan to field a full Filipino roster. That shift in direction came in the form of kpii, who took over as offlaner while Kuku shifted to the position 5 support role previously vacated by eyyou.
The addition of kpii helped Blacklist Rivalry bounce back during the Summer Tour regional league and qualify for the Bali Major.
However, the team faltered against international competition and bombed out of the final Major of the season in 13th-14th place, which also meant they missed out on a direct invite to TI 2023 and will have to earn their spot in the tournament through the regional qualifiers.
While Blacklist Rivalry managed to reach the grand finals of the Southeast Asian regional qualifier, they were soundly defeated by Team SMG and missed out on TI 2023 as a result.
Blacklist Rivalry is expected to announce its full roster for the next Dota 2 esports season some time after the conclusion of TI 2023.
TI 2023 will be hosted from 12 to 29 October in Seattle, the United States and will feature 20 of the best Dota 2 teams in the world will be fighting to claim the coveted Aegis of Champions and the lion's share of a growing prize pool.
For everything you need to know about TI 2023, check here.
Blacklist Rivalry Dota 2 roster:
Marc Polo "Raven" Fausto
N/A
N/A
Timothy "Tims" Randrup
Carlo "Kuku" Palad
Adam "343" Shah (coach)
For more esports news updates, visit https://yhoo.it/YahooEsportsSEA and check out Yahoo Esports Southeast Asia’s Facebook page and Twitter, as well as our Gaming channel on YouTube.
