Admir M. February 7, 2019
Team captain and support player Michael “ninjaboogie” Ross has departed TNC Predator.
With the team’s recent roster changes, TNC Predator have looked shaky and uneven. The return of Carlo “Kuku” Palad and the team’s early exit at the DreamLeague Season 11 SEA Qualifiers marked the end of the line for the squad’s captain.
Ninjaboogie joined TNC from Mineski shortly after The International 2018. The seasoned SEA veteran was picked up by the Filipino squad in hopes that he would lead the team to a spot atop the region. So far, TNC have failed to accomplish that goal, and have consistently been overshadowed by regional rival Fnatic.
In his short career with TNC, Ninjaboogie represented the Filipino side at two majors with only middling mediocre results.
The main reason for the roster change would seem to be a lack of synergy resulting from a difference in playstyles between ninjaboogie and the core players of TNC. At certain times it has looked as though carry player Kim “Gabbi” Villafuerte and mid laner Armel Paul “Armel” Tabios had trouble keeping up with ninjaboogie’s aggressive tendencies, either leaving ninjaboogie overly exposed or simply creating disjointed team fights.
Ninjaboogie’s replacement in the starting roster will be Nico "eyyou" Barcelon, while Kuku will be taking over as the team’s captain for the time being. Eyyou will be a familiar face to TNC fans, as he represented the team for nearly two years until 2016. He will be joining TNC on loan from fellow SEA squad Lotac.
With his newfound free agency, ninjaboogie’s future in his local scene is a mystery. Rumors have surfaced that ninjeboogie, a fluent English-speaker, could take his talents overseas and try his luck in the North American Dota 2 scene.