Esports in SEA: April 2019 Dota 2 updates
Yahoo Singapore looks at some of the transfers news in professional Dota 2 teams in Southeast Asia in April.
Dendi and Xepher leave Tigers
On 23 April, Malaysia-based team Tigers announced that Kenny 'Xepher' Deo and Danil 'Dendi' Ishutin are no longer part of their line-up, as Tigers looked to rebuild and achieve better results as The International 2019 approaches.
Dendi, arguably one of the most famous players in Dota 2, was previously the Position 2 player for Tigers while Xepher was the Position 4 player.
The departure of Dendi meant that Dendi had played in the Southeast Asia region for exactly four months since he was introduced into Tigers’ roster on 23 January. It remains to be seen where Dendi will head to next.
Heen joins TNC Predator as coach
Philippines-based team TNC Predator, announced on 26 April that Lee "Heen" Seung Gon has joined TNC Predator as their new coach.
Heen was previously a player in the now-disbanded South Korean team MVP Phoenix, which formerly played in the Southeast Asia region. Heen was subsequently the coach of Europe-based Team Liquid, and won The International 2017 with Team Liquid.
TNC Predator had previously acquired notable coaches for their team, including Sivatheeban "1437" Sivanathapillai who is currently the captain of Tigers, and Murielle "Kips" Huisman who is currently coaching North America-based team compLexity Gaming.
Malaysian players join Chinese teams
Kee Chyuan "ChYuan" Ng, previously the Position 2 player for Malaysia-based team LOTAC Gaming, was announced on 14 April to be on trial in China-based Team Aster as their new Position 2 player.
Team Aster is a China-based team created by the Chinese legend Xu "BurNIng" Zhilei, and Malaysian legend Chai "Mushi" Yee Fung was the previous Position 2 player for Team Aster before ChYuan came in.
Mushi was removed from Team Aster’s roster on 19 April and is currently not registered with any team.
Meanwhile, Thiay "JT-" Jun Wen was loaned to China-based team Invictus Gaming from Philippines-based team Mineski on 7 April. JT- was previously loaned to China-based team Newbee.
The International 2019 dates
It was announced on 26 April on Dota 2’s Twitter account that the main stages of The International 2019 will be held from 20 to 25 August.
The International 2019 will be held in Shanghai and ticket sales are expected to be available in the upcoming weeks.
