Filipino Dota 2 star Gabbi was teamless for 5 months, now he and Entity will be playing in TI 2023

For a time, Filipino Dota 2 star Kim "Gabbi" Santos didn't think he'd be playing in The International (TI) 2023.

The 25-year old started the 2023 season with Fnatic, but was left teamless when the organisation disbanded its Dota 2 team and left the scene in February.

As a result, Gabbi planned to skip the rest of the season. During that five-month downtime, he started streaming and preparing to shift roles from the carry to the offlane for a return to competitive play next year.

But then Western European team Entity came knocking at his door, and Gabbi felt the itch to play competitive again. And wouldn't you know it, he went from being teamless to qualifying for this year's Dota 2 world championship tournament.

In an exclusive interview with Yahoo Esports SEA, Gabbi expressed that this new chapter in his career was an unexpected, yet welcome, surprise.

"Honestly, after Fnatic disbanded I was planning on not playing for the rest of the season, like I was thinking I will just play again in the next season. I was getting bored of streaming, I was streaming and grinding for five months," said Gabbi.

But I suddenly felt like playing competitive again so when Entity messaged me, I became interested and joined them. To be honest, I really thought about it for a while because I also received offers from SEA teams. I declined because I didn't feel like playing yet at the time. I thought [Entity and I] can really make it work, so that's where this whole thing started."

Gabbi's shift to the offlane

Ever since he started his career in 2016, Gabbi had been a carry player known for his aggressive playstyle. That helped bring him success, especially with TNC Predator from 2018 to 2021. However, the past couple of years saw mixed results for Gabbi, and he felt like his career was at an impasse.

That's when he thought a shift in role from the carry to the offlane would help revitalise his career, especially with the shift in the metagame.

"It was just a feeling, really. I felt like I really wanted to play the offlane, it's what I wanted to pursue for this next step in my career. I also think my playstyle better suited the offlane compared to the carry role," said Gabbi.

However, he didn't exactly expect he'd be playing his new role in a new region, though Gabbi said this only helped to expand his horizons.

"I've always been interested in playing in another server and another region. This is my first time playing in Europe and with European teammates, so I felt like I can really learn a lot from them and that my career can grow from this opportunity," he added.

Of course, such a drastic shift comes with growing pains, but Gabbi says it's just another push for him in the right direction. Having supportive teammates and becoming a bit of a favourite among Entity fans certainly helped Gabbi get comfortable in this new environment too.

"I wasn't really comfortable at first, but I have grown close with my team now. At first I was a bit shy and didn't know what to do, just feeling around since I wasn't in my comfort zone. But it's fine that I left my comfort zone because I eventually learned a lot more than I would have if I stayed there," said Gabbi.

Gabbi's time with Entity didn't have the best of starts, as his debut with the team in Riyadh Masters 2023 back in July saw them only manage a 17th-20th place finish. At the time, they didn't even have enough time to practice together as he had to fly from the Philippines to join the team.

But once they were able to get some reps together, they knew they had something good brewing. It showed during TI 2023's Western European regional qualifier in August, where Entity lost only one game en route to claiming the first of two spots in the tournament for the region.

"We were really confident that we'd qualify for TI, especially after we finally got to practice. At Riyadh actually we didn't have any practice at all, we had to go straight to playing official games. So when we finally had the chance to get to know each other and practice, we knew we became really confident we'd get through the qualifier," said Gabbi.

Entity continued rolling in DreamLeague Season 21 in September, where they finished in the Top 6 against many of the biggest contenders in TI.

How Gabbi found growth with Entity

In the two months Gabbi has been with Entity so far, he can already see himself much improved from before. While he is playing better alongside better teammates, Gabbi says his his biggest point of growth was in an often overlooked aspect of competitive play: communication.

"It's a funny thing because I remember having a team discussion where we pointed out what we need to improve as individuals. A couple of my teammates said I needed to improve my comms," Gabbi recounted.

"Because in SEA teams, especially with Filipino players, we are very vocal and comms can get very random and messy. Sometimes we can get really hyped in a game and lose our energy when we have to play a lot of series. I think that's what I really improved on, less comms and more focus on the games themselves."

With his primary goal in joining Entity — that is qualifying for TI — now accomplished, Gabbi is looking ahead to see how he and his team will perform against the best of the best in this year's world championship tournament.

In that regard, Gabbi says Entity is all about being relaxed and playing free with no pressure of expectations. With the high-pressure environment of TI in consideration, he thinks just focusing on the game in front of you is paramount.

"We have a lot of trust in each other, even if this is a new environment for me. We always have fun when playing, we don't stress about the games too much. We don't have expectations so there's no pressure for us," said Gabbi.

"I feel like my team never really set expectations for ourselves, but I think you can say that about most other teams too. I feel like setting expectations too high for yourself — like I need to make Top 4 or become the champion — that just adds pressure to your team so you won't be able to play freely. That's why we always tell ourselves to play as a team, have fun, don't stress out about things too much."

Gabbi and Entity are among the 20 teams playing in TI 2023, which will be hosted from 12 to 29 October in Seattle, the United States. There, the best Dota 2 teams in the world fighting to claim the coveted Aegis of Champions and the lion's share of a growing prize pool.

For everything you need to know about TI 2023, check here.

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