Skem Departs From OB.Neon’s Dota 2 Roster

OB.Neon has made a surprising change to its Dota 2 roster. Rolen Andrei Gabriel "skem" Ong (also known as “ctm”), captain and one of the oldest members of the team, has departed from the squad, just when it looked like the roster had been completed with the addition of Mongolian player, Ravdan "Hustla" Narmandakh earlier this week. OB.Neon announced this roster change on its social media handles where it also thanked skem for his contributions and wished him the best for the future. The replacement for skem has not yet been announced.

Skem leaves OB.Neon after over a year of service

“Skem has been with us a long time and has played an integral role in our rise to becoming one of the strongest teams in Southeast Asia. We wish Andrei all the best in the future. GLHF,” said OB.Neon as it announced its captain’s departure.

OB.Neon’s updated roster after skem’s exit is as follows:

1. TBD

2. Erin Jasper "Yopaj" Ferrer

3. Michael Roi "Enryu" Ladines

4. Ravdan "Hustla" Narmandakh

5. Jaunuel "Jaunuel" Arcilla

Skem was expected to take up the role of the safelaner permanently after the Filipino organization parted ways with John Anthony "Natsumi-" Vargas, the team's former carry player, in July 2021. Skem had, in fact, played as the team's carry in recent tournaments such as the BTS Pro Series Season 7: Southeast Asia.

It seems both parties have different plans as skem will no longer be seen in OB.Neon colors, parting ways with the team after more than a year of service. A member of the team since May 2020, he had played several tournaments for them since then. Skem showed versatility by assuming almost every role in the game and serving as the captain to lead OB.Neon to several tournament victories and, on top of it all, a 5th-6th finish at the Singapore Major 2021.

Following the stellar performance at the Singapore Major, the team failed to qualify for The International 10 (TI10) due to poor performances in the second regional league and the Southeast Asian (SEA) qualifiers for TI10. As a result, the team has changed its roster multiple times.

OB.Neon is yet to announce skem’s replacement. As of right now, it is also unknown which new team the Filipino professional will join. OB.Neon will compete in the QH Sports Dota Series 2 beginning on 30th Aug 2021. Therefore, we might find out who replaces skem to finalize the team unless more sweeping roster changes occur.