Steven R. May 1, 2019
Team Team has a new roster and a new sponsor.
The organization has announced the addition of mid laner Eric "Ryoya" Dong and support player Timothy "tmt" Ong. Additionally, Team Team has found a sponsor in Beastcoast.
The addition of Ryoya and TMT comes after Team Team’s controversial release of Nico "Gunnar" Lopez and Jason "Newsham" Newsham. After qualifying for the MDL Disneyland Paris Major, the squad dropped the pair during ESL One Mumbai, prompting outcry from both fans and pundits alike. The sad tales told by both booted players led to considerable backlash against the team, in particular its carry player Jacky “EternalEnVy” Mao, who has been at the center of a number of controversial roster moves over the years.
The addition of Ryoya is an expected one. The journeyman played with Team Team earlier in the season and played alongside EternalEnVy for a time with Flying Penguins. Many speculated that the removal of Gunnar was to free up space for Ryoya, and those expectations have been proven true.
But while the addition of Ryoya is hardly a surprise, the addition of TMT does raise eyebrows. TMT first popped up in the pro Dota 2 scene in 2017 with India’s Entity Gaming. He left the organization in 2018 and joined Echo International, a short-lived team that was helmed by former OG mid Anathan "ana" Pham and former Invictus Gaming captain Wong "ChuaN" Hock Chuan. The team disbanded ahead of qualifiers for The International 2018 and TMT has been a free agent ever since.
With a number of high-profile free agents still available with experience playing in the 4 role, including Saahil "UNiVeRsE" Arora, Milan "MiLAN" Kozomara, and Kim "Febby" Yong-min, some will wonder what led the team to TMT.
This is still a new era for the team, and the new era comes with new uniforms.
The squad is now sponsored by Beastcoast. Created in 2017, the organization sponsors several top fighting game players including Ramin "Mr.R" Delshad and Mike Haze, and has previously sponsored teams in Rainbow Six: Siege. This is Beastcoast’s first foray into Dota 2.
The new Beastcoast team will make its debut at the MDL Disneyland Paris Major on May 4.