Sources: Bleed eSports to Acquire T1’s DPC Slot

Singaporean esports organization Bleed eSports will acquire T1's Division 1 spot in the upcoming Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) 2023, according to sources close to AFK Gaming. T1's future in Dota 2 remains unclear, but our sources indicate that there is currently no plan for the team to move to other regions.

Currently, Bleed eSports only operates a roster in Valorant that is primarily made up of Singaporean players. But its expansion into Dota 2 will mean it has another esports title under its belt.

Singapore-based Bleed eSports is acquiring T1's DPC slot for the 2022-23 season

According to our sources, Bleed eSports will make its debut in Dota 2 in the next season of the DPC. This will mark the expansion of the organization into non-Valorant titles.

It is a welcome sign that a new organization is looking to enter the Southeast Asian Dota 2 space. Unfortunately, it comes at the expense of a prominent global esports organization giving away its spot.

A number of key players in T1 have recently left the team. Recently in October, coach Park "March" Tae-won and players Carlo "Kuku" Palad, Matthew "Whitemon" Filemon, and Kenny "Xepher" Deo have left the T1 roster, stating that they were searching for new opportunities. With Topias "Topson" Taavitsainen's tenure at T1 coming to an end (as he was only recruited as a stand-in) and Anathan "ana" Pham also being expected to depart from the roster, T1's Dota 2 future looked grim ahead of the DPC 2023 season.

T1 first entered Dota 2 in 2019 after establishing itself as a legendary League of Legends team. After some teething problems in its first year, the team went on to pick up many members of the successful Geek Fam lineup. The group worked well together winning tournaments like the ESL One Summer 2021 and securing a Top 3 finish at the WePlay AniMajor 2022. At the end of the 2021-22 season, it had proven to be the best team in Southeast Asia (SEA) with a Top 8 finish at TI10.

After a strong showing in its first year of being together, the roster was retained for the 2021-22 season. But its results were far from satisfactory and it underwent multiple roster changes to recapture its form. T1 would go on to invite two veterans, Topson and ana to its roster ahead of TI11, but ultimately ended up failing in the Last Chance Qualifiers.

Perhaps its failure to make it to TI11 lead T1 to forego its slot in Division 1 of DPC 2022-23 which is expected to begin in December. It is unclear if this marks the end of T1's tenure in Dota 2.