Blacklist International, a New Dota 2 Team in SEA

Southeast Asia is about to become a lot more competitive next year. Some of the strongest Dota 2 players from the region have been signed by a new organization called Blacklist International.

We don’t often see new orgs entering this esport because it’s really hard to succeed in it. The level of skill required is really high and almost all of the prize money is earned at The International. Therefore, from a financial standpoint, if a club misses that opportunity, it will not have a good year.

A Little Bit About Blacklist International

Blacklist International is a subsidiary of Tier One Entertainment. This is a serious company from the Philippines, whose partners include Warner Music Group and half a dozen of other well-known brands.

Tier One Entertainment has a successful YouTube channel and is followed by nearly a quarter of a million people. For esports, this is a decent number that might grow significantly if Blacklist International achieves its plans for 2023, which probably include at least a Tour victory and attending The International 12.

Tier One’s advertising message is quite aggressive. The company makes an obvious effort to look imposing and calls itself the gaming and esports entertainment leader in SEA. This Dota 2 project is certainly not its first esports project and there’s a decent chance that it will succeed.

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The Players Signed by Blacklist International

A lot of companies enter this esport and then make decisions that suggest an unwillingness to take risks. Blacklist International has done the exact opposite. Instead of starting with a cheap team and seeing how it goes, they’ve put together a formidable one, which probably cost a lot of money.

Many of the big names in the region have been contacted and they decided to join the project.

• Carlo “Kuku” Palad
• Timothy “TIMS” Randrup
• Marc “Raven” Luis Fausto
• Karl “Karl” Bladovino
• Nico “eyyou” Barcelon

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If you’re a Dota 2 fan, you probably recognize at least four of those names. In particular, Raven, TIMS, and Kuku are phenomenal players who have won important SEA tournaments in their careers.

Raven played at TI four different times, finishing between seventh and sixteenth place each time. He also participated in World Electronic Sports Games several times and won two trophies.

Some fans might regard these players as lacking motivation or being over the hill. But that’s not the case at all. All of them are still young and still interested in winning something important. For a SEA team, to win a Major or The International would be a dream come true.

We’ve seen most of the other regions achieving this goal and it has a huge impact on the local Dota 2 scene. Now that Blacklist International has brought together so many high-level players, the dream for SEA fans seems more achievable than ever.

Header: Blacklist International