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Fnatic sign Thai Dota 2 player Masaros as new offlaner

Natthaphon "Masaros" Ouanphakdee joins Fnatic's Dota 2 roster as their new offlaner. (Photo: Fnatic Dota 2 Facebook)
Natthaphon "Masaros" Ouanphakdee joins Fnatic's Dota 2 roster as their new offlaner. (Photo: Fnatic Dota 2 Facebook)

Fnatic have announced the signing of former Motivate.Trust Gaming player Natthaphon "Masaros" Ouanphakdee as the new offlaner for their Dota 2 team.

The organisation, whose Dota 2 team is based in Malaysia, revealed their acquisition of Masaros on their official Twitter account on Tuesday (24 November), finalising a roster that has been in flux since July.

Masaros has cemented his place as one of Southeast Asia’s rising stars in recent months. He was an integral part of the Motivate.Trust squad that ascended to the top of the scene as the likes of Fnatic and TNC Predator dropped out of competition as they battled with roster issues.

As the offlaner for Motivate.Trust, Masaros helped the team win BTS Pro Series: SEA Season 3 in September and Dota Summit 13 Online: SEA earlier this month. The team released Masaros and carry player Souliya "JaCkky" Khoomphetsavong shortly before Fnatic announced their acquisition of the offlaner.

Masaros will be taking over the offlane role for Fnatic from Singaporean star Daryl “iceiceice” Koh, who left the team in mid-September to join North American team Evil Geniuses earlier this month.

Fnatic were the best team in Southeast Asia once the Dota 2 scene shifted to online competitions, notably recording an impressive streak of five-straight tournament wins from March — when the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) was suspended — to June.

However, things started to decline after a roster move in late July that saw Marc “Raven” Fausto replace Nuengnara "23savage" Teeramahanon as the team’s carry player.

Instead of further strengthening what was already a powerhouse squad, the move instead started a string of further roster shuffles for Fnatic that likely contributed to the unexpected departure of arguably their best player in iceiceice.

After that initial move, the team replaced longtime support player Anucha “Jabz” Jirawong with Nico “eyyou” Barcelon in early September. However, eyyou left Fnatic just a week later alongside iceiceice.

Jabz then returned to the team in mid-October, taking over as the position 4 support player as Djardel “DJ” Mampusti became the team’s captain and position 5 player.

With Masaros bringing in new blood to the team, Fnatic will surely be looking to re-establish themselves as the best in Southeast Asia.

Fnatic have not appeared in any tournaments since September. However, the team is expected to make their return to competition around the resumption of the DPC early next year.

Fnatic Dota 2 roster:

  1. Marc “Raven” Fausto

  2. Kam “Moon” Boon Seng

  3. Natthaphon "Masaros" Ouanphakdee

  4. Anucha “Jabz” Jirawong

  5. Djardel “DJ” Mampusti

For more esports news updates, visit https://yhoo.it/YahooEsportsSEA and check out Yahoo Esports Southeast Asia’s Facebook page.

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