Singaporean Dota 2 Player Ponlo Reveals His Reasoning For Switching Roles

Singaporean support player, Remus “Ponlo” Goh Zhi Xian, revealed via a Twitlonger post that he is switching from position four to position five role and stated the reason behind this decision. This statement comes a week after Ponlo had communicated that he had not only switched to the position five role but was also captaining his Dota 2 squad, Team D. According to the Singaporean, the high number of position four players in SEA, a language barrier and the lack of “real captains” in the region have all contributed to his change in role. Ponlo stated that it will be an extremely demanding journey, but that he would work hard.

Team D Ponlo talks about his position switch and the captain role in SEA Dota 2

On May 22, Ponlo mentioned his Dota 2 squad, Team D, needed a sponsor. In the same tweet, he also mentioned that he was playing as a position five player now and was also captaining his squad. He had written a Twitlonger post on the same but since he felt that nobody would care, he decided to delete it.

Team D’s roster as revealed by Ponlo in the tweet is:

1. Cheng "vtFαded" Jia Hao
2. Julius "JG" Galeon
3. Yang "Deth" Wu Heng
4. Adrian "Destrice" Eng
5. Remus “Ponlo” Goh Zhi Xian

However, on June 1, 2021, Ponlo, eventually went on to explain the reason behind his role switch and talk about his future plans. 

1. Ponlo believes that there are “too many” position four players in the SEA Dota 2 scene. (This is seemingly the case in SEA currently with top position four players like Boomy and DJ having to make a transition.)
2. Ponlo mentions that a team that speaks a single language will prefer players who also speak the same language. (Teams like TNC Predator also share this desire in the SEA Dota 2 scene, where they tend to prefer players who speak in the local language.)
3. Ponlo stated that he would be much more marketable in the SEA region if he takes on the position five role and captains a squad. (This is likely to hold true if he can showcase potency as a captain, similar to what Boomy did at Adroit Esports and Omega Esports.)
4. Adding to his third point, Ponlo states that there are no “real captains in SEA.” Except for Mushi, Kuku, and March, he feels that no SEA captain has been able to demonstrate his capabilities internationally. (Particularly true for the last couple of years as many established players have switched to the coach role, changed regions, or have been inactive.)

After putting forward his reasons, the Singaporean said that he is all ready to embark on this new journey. Though people might scoff at him for exclaiming all these things without any significant achievements to back them up, Ponlo is determined to give his all to excel as a position five player and a captain. 

The Singaporean concludes his statement by thanking all his fans for the love and support. 

Edit: Team D was disqualified from the SEA 2021 DPC S2 because their mid player, VtFαded, left team Mystery, his former squad, after the transfer deadline and played with Team D in the open qualifiers. Also, the team did not play in either the Upper or the Lower Division of the DPC as a result of this disqualification which means that the players will not be seen competing in the TI10 regional qualifiers. 

RELATED:  Team SMG Qualify For SEA 2021 DPC S2: Lower Division After Team D Gets Disqualified

Team D is not participating in any of the ongoing SEA tournaments. It is likely that we will see Ponlo and his teammates in action soon since the region always has tournaments scheduled.