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T1 has officially announced the addition of Filipino carry Kim "Gabbi" Villafuerte Santos to its Dota 2 roster. This confirmation comes after Gabbi served as T1's safelaner during the recently concluded Southeast Asia (SEA) Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) 2021-22 Regional Finals where the team finished as the runner-ups. Additionally, Gabbi is also currently playing for the team in the BTS Pro Series S10. There was no information in the announcement regarding the future of Nuengnara "23savage" Teeramahanon, T1's safelaner before the Regional Finals, who currently sits on the team's inactive roster.
T1 announces the inclusion of Gabbi
“Welcome to our #T1DOTA2 team, @gabbidoto,” T1 announced on Twitter.
T1’s Dota 2 roster ahead of Tour 2 of the DPC 2021-22 consists of the following players:
Kim "Gabbi" Villafuerte
Karl "Karl" Jayme
Carlo "Kuku" Palad
Kenny "Xepher" Deo
Matthew "Whitemon" Filemon
Park "March" Tae-won (coach)
On 8th Feb, Gabbi was announced as the replacement safelaner for 23savage, who was reassigned to an inactive status. While the team did well in the Regional Finals, it was unable to get past BOOM Esports, which was also playing with a stand-in safelaner, in the grand finals and ended up second with $25,000 USD in prize money and 130 DPC points.
Although there has not been an official announcement, it is likely that 23savage will soon depart the team now that Gabbi has officially been signed by T1. In accordance with DPC rules, the team will lose 29.7 DPC points for the removal of 23savage from the roster. While residing on T1’s inactive roster, 23savage is also on loan to Motivate.Trust Gaming for the BTS Pro Series S10.
The fate of 23savage as a member of Motivate.Trust Gaming after the BTS Pro Series is unknown at the moment. Motivate.Trust Gaming will likely need a new carry player in the future since Souliya "JaCkky" Khoomphetsavong is expected to become a permanent member of BOOM Esports following his stint as the team’s stand-in carry in the Regional Finals.
As for T1, prior to Tour 2 of the DPC 2021-22 starting on 14th March, it will look forward to getting some match practice with Gabbi in the BTS Pro Series S10. The team has had a surprisingly bad start to the event, drawing the series with Execration, and losing to Lilgun. T1’s next series will take place on 22nd Feb against Polaris Esports.
