Cover-Credits:
While the off-season continues to provide us with transfer rumors as well as roster changes, it looks like Southeast Asia (SEA) will have its first confirmed roster for the 2022/2023 DPC (Dota Pro Circuit) season as Talon Esports signed Chan "Oli" Chon Kien from Invictus Gaming. In a post on Twitter, Talon revealed that Oli would be its hard support for the upcoming season.
The Malaysian support player will be taking over the former duties of Brizio "Hyde" Budiana, who was recently released by the organization alongside Damien "kpii" Sau-jing.
Oli returns to SEA as he completes Talon’s 2022/2023 roster
“We are happy to announce Oli as the final piece of our DotA 2 roster.” Talon wrote in its announcement tweet.
Following the announcement, Talon’s roster for the 2022/2023 DPC season has been confirmed as follows:
Nuengnara "23savage" Teeramahanon
Rafli "Mikoto" Rahman
Anucha "Jabz" Jirawong
Worawit "Q" Mekchai
Chan "Oli" Chon Kien
Oli joined Invictus Gaming in late 2018, and was a key part in its success as the organization won multiple tournaments including the DOTA Summit 11 in 2019 & the Singapore Major in 2021.While the team was heavily considered as a title contender for the Aegis of Champions at TI10, the team only managed to claim 4th place at the event.
Going into 2022, many believed that IG would be able to maintain its form for the upcoming season. However, 2022 turned out to be the worst year for the team as the team got relegated into the second division of the Chinese DPC at the start of the season. While the team did manage to earn promotion back to Division I for the upcoming season, the team barely missed out on qualifying for the Last Chance Qualifiers as it lost to Vici Gaming in the Regional Qualifiers.
Talon’s pickup of Oli came as a surprise to many. However, Oli would need no time to adapt to the region as he is a native himself, being from Malaysia. He also has an abundance of experience from his time in the Chinese region which could benefit Talon in the long term. Finally, Oli will be taking over the former duties of Brizio "Hyde" Budiana, who was recently released by the organization.
Nevertheless, Talon will be looking to dethrone the likes of BOOM Esports & Fnatic in the upcoming season as the kings of the region. However, there are still many changes yet to be announced and it is very difficult to predict how each of the top teams’ final roster will look at the end of the month. In order to keep up with Dota 2 roster changes around the world, check out AFK Gaming's post TI11 roster shuffle tracker below
