Nico "eyyou" Barcelon is the latest addition to Fnatic’s Dota 2 squad as Anucha "Jabz" Jirawong will be leaving the team on mutual agreement.
Fnatic’s Dota 2 team has been at the top of the region for quite some time. Ever since the global pandemic canceled all possible LAN events, almost every tournament was dominated by Fnatic. The only two teams that proved they’re able to take them down are Geek Fam (disbanded on September 4) and BOOM Esports.
Given the fact that results are definitely not lacking in Fnatic’s Dota 2 division, it came as a surprise that the team is making some notable roster changes. Today, the organization announcedNico "eyyou" Barcelon will be replacing Anucha "Jabz" Jirawong. The latter was one of the longest-standing members as Jabz joined Fnatic back in 2018 and spent two years with the team.
Long time Dota fans can recall that eyyou joined Fnatic back in 2016 along with Marc Polo Luis "Raven" Fausto after a memorable finish at TI6. His stint with us didn't last long but just like Raven, eyyou eventually flourished as one of the premiere supports and captains in the region. Now reunited, we are optimistic with what we can do together as we prepare for the planned return of the Dota Pro Circuit early next year. This also means that we have to part ways with Anucha "Jabz" Jirawong who in mutual agreement will be released from the roster.Looking back at our ESL Thailand run, we realized that there is a severe lack in commanding without Daryl "iceiceice" Koh who was on break during the tournament. After our loss to Motivade.Trust, we talked things over and deemed some changes are to be made. Initially assigned to Jabz, he thought it will be better to assign leadership to someone else. We chose DJ to assume leadership roles and he agrees under the condition that he plays position 5, hence we switched him with Jabz.
The captain was missing during the last big event and the team had to make some last-minute changes. Fnatic finished third in ESL One Thailand and it seems that’s what pushed the team to make the hard decision.
After a thorough deliberation, Jabz and the management both decided that it is the best interest for us to mutually part ways and take this opportunity to work with a player that excels at position 5. Thus we came up with eyyou as vouched by DJ, Raven and our coach Lee "SunBhie" Jeong-jae.We would like to thank Jabz for all his contributions in his 2 years with Fnatic, steering us towards numerous victories throughout his years under the black and orange banner. We wish him nothing but the best on his future steps and we hope to see him back in the servers soon.
Many fans are already speculating that Fnatic’s final goal might be to make a full-on Philippino team and that might mean releasing Kam "Moon" Boon Seng and Daryl Koh "iceiceice" Pei Xiang. Whether that’ll truly happen remains to be seen. One thing is certain though, Fnatic just lost a lot of fans in Thailand.
What do you think about Fnatic’s latest roster change? Was Jabz one of the playmakers for the team? Share your opinion on our Facebook page!
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