T1 bids farewell to Karl and Gabbi ahead of TI11

T1 has been stuck in the weeds for quite some time now. Its performance this year pales greatly in comparison to that of the previous year. In 2021, T1 had notable accomplishments such as ranking first in the second season of 2021 SEA DPC, winning ESL One Summer 2021 and finishing 7-8th at TI10. This time, it could not even get a direct invite to TI11. With only 273 DPC points, T1 will go through qualifiers to earn a spot at TI11.

The Southeast Asian Dota community is never lacking of incredible talent. Some of the wildest and most unorthodox gameplays were born out of SEA. However, these unpredictable, undisciplined styles of playing Dota were also the reasons the region was sometimes ignored by the broader pro scene.

It was not until 2021 that the perspective on SEA Dota began to shift. Whether it was due to the changes in meta along with the players' understanding of it, the once detested destructive nature of SEA Dota became a respectable way on how the game should be played. And T1 was one of the teams that took the helm of bringing SEA to the forefront.

The 2021 T1 Dota roster was reminiscent of the most popular team, OG. Exuding the power of friendship, T1 players always brought gleeful shenanigans into their games. From waging a tip war on Quincy Crew's Quinn to performing some nation-sweeping Indonesian sensation against Team Aster to defying all odds by winning a best of five (BO5) series against the uncontested Virtus Pro in ESL One Summer 2021, they never failed to demonstrate jolliness in their games.

After releasing 23savage from its roster to make room for Gabbi, things never seemed to go according to T1's plans. Even though the players did not perform poorly by any means, T1 had yet to achieve the same level of success from the previous year. They placed third for the first two seasons of 2022 SEA DPC and even placed fifth in the third season. They also bowed out early from Stockholm Major, finishing 9-12th.

Meanwhile, 23savage managed to land on a better place with Talon Esports. With his new team, 23savage rose all the way from Division II to placing second in the third season of 2022 SEA DPC and qualifying to Arlington Major. In terms of DPC ranking, T1 stands right below Talon, which says much about a team that was expected to do well.

Now, T1 had made the decision to release their midlaner Karl and carry player Gabbi. Whether Karl and Gabbi were the problems, something was clearly not working, which led to the organization's decision to part ways with the players. Consequently, T1 will most likely suffer from the negative impacts of constantly shaking up their roster, especially right before TI.

The race to TI11 Singapore is still on. T1 still has a chance to make it, but it will be an arduous one as the team will have to go through qualifiers. But first, it has to complete its roster. Some of the popular contenders would be Topson for mid and ana for carry. However, Topson did mention in a documentary by OG that he is looking to join a team in Europe. He has also mentioned during one of his livestreams that he doesn't find SEA teams enticing.

As for ana, he just completed his stint as a stand-in for RNG that was recently eliminated from Arlington Major. Unless he already has other plans, ana may be a good addition to T1. As a matter of fact, there were rumors about ana joining T1 floating around earlier this year. Kuku even leaked on his stream one of the scrim matches he and his team played with ana against Yangon Galacticos.

As for Karl and Gabbi, they can only hope to find a team before the door to even try to qualify for TI closes. With TI being held in Singapore, SEA fans can only hope for more SEA teams and players to participate. Currently, only BOOM Esports is qualified by points. We will keep you up-to-date on T1's state of affairs. Be sure to check esports.gg for more information!