OB.Neon and Natsumi- Part Ways

OB.Neon, which competed in the recently concluded Dota 2 tournaments with stand-ins, has now announced that it will part ways with carry player John Anthony "Natsumi-" Vargas. Many have speculated about Natsumi-'s absence from the squad in recent and ongoing Dota 2 events where he was replaced by TNC Predator's Timothy John "Tims" Randrup, and is currently by former Omega Esports player Mark "Shanks" Redira at the BTS Pro Series S7: Southeast Asia (SEA) event. However, Natsumi- now departs from OB.Neon’s roster after serving the team for nearly nine months. As of the time of writing this article, OB.Neon has not announced the carry player's replacement.

Natsumi-’s time with OB.Neon comes to an end

“It is now time for us to part ways, we wish Natsumi- all the best for his Dota career,” OB.Neon said as it bids farewell to its carry player, who played over 200 games for them.

OB.Neon’s roster after Natsumi-’s departure:

• Rolen Andrei Gabriel "skem" Ong

• Erin Jasper "Yopaj" Ferrer

• Michael Roi "Enryu" Ladines

• TBD

• Jaunuel "Jaunuel" Arcilla

Natsumi- joined OB.Neon in November 2020. His contribution was crucial to the team's incredible finish in second place in the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) 2021 Season One. Sadly, he could not travel with the team for the Singapore Major where the team, regardless, once again performed well above its weight to finish 5th-6th. Skem and Yopaj were particularly praised for their carry and mid performances. After this, OB.Neon's performance decreased as they failed to qualify for the second Major and TI10 via the SEA qualifier.

The absence of Natsumi- from the post-SEA qualifier events had raised questions over his place in the team. Now it is clear that Natsumi- will not be part of the OB.Neon roster. It has not been announced who will replace him.

Currently, Shanks is playing as a stand in for the team at the ongoing BTS Pro Series S7: SEA. After losing 1-2 to Team D in their first match, the team is now in the lower bracket of the closed qualifier. On July 29th 2021, OB.Neon will face the Vietnamese team, 496 Gaming.

It will be interesting to see if OB.Neon decides to permanently hire a new player in the position four role and skem continues as the carry or if skem decides to play position four and a new carry player is recruited. Skem's carry performances at the Singapore Major and the recently concluded events have reaped fruit, so it is likely that he will keep performing in this role.