Dota 2: Ana and Topson officially join T1 team

Dota 2 Ana Topson

In a recent tweet from the official Twitter account of T1, they confirmed the newest addition to their Dota 2 roster. Anathan “ana” Pham and Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen, both former Dota 2 champions, are now official members of the T1 team.

Anathan “ana” Pham is an  Australian Dota 2 player known for being the first two-time TI-Winner. He bagged both wins in two consecutive TIs, TI8 and TI9. He was also a teammate with Topson during his most recent success. He was also known for his epic performance in EPICENTER Major 2019 after getting the highest average kills per game, 10.90. He also popularized using Io in position one during The International 2019. He finished with a 6-0 record on the hero.

Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen is a Finnish Dota 2 player also known for being the first two-time TI-Winner. Like Anathan, he was also with OG when they won against PSG.LGD on TI8 and when they won against Team Liquid on T19. He was a former culinary student who quit after realizing his passion and pushed to become a pro-Dota 2 player. His highest average kills per game were back in The International 2019, ending it with 9.43.

Gabbi and Karl are out of the team

After finishing 5th in the DPC SEA 2021-2022 Tour 3 Division I, Kim “Gabbi” Santos and Karl “Karl” Baldovino were let go by T1 last August 11. With 2 slots vacated in their roster, this should fill the gap and complete the team for T1. It was a surprise for many T1 fans who were both highly accomplished Filipino Dota 2 players. However, after unveling their new members, it seems that T1 may have taken the right direction.

Before officially signing for T1, Ana and Topson were confirmed to be free agents. Ana just finished playing as Team Liquid’s stand-in for the Riyadh Masters, and Royal Never Give Up’s a stand-in for the PGL Arlington Major. As a seasoned player, Ana has participated in 26 pro games. There was no history or hint from ana about being part of T1, as his last participation in the pro-scene was as a stand-in.

However, the story is different for Topson. He has previously announced that he is keen to sign up to join the team for the upcoming TI11 regional qualifier. Before this, he confirmed that he was taking a break from the competitive scene in November 2021. Less than a year after this announcement, Topson has declared his intention of going after Aegis of the Immortal again as he attempts his third TI championship win.

READ MORE: LEAGUE OF LEGENDS: ELO BOOSTING AND WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

What will ana and Topson bring to T1

T1, a prestigious Esports organization, is on the prowl to get its hands on the much-coveted Aegis of the Immortal. This was modeled from the in-game legendary item, Aegis of Champions, which is given to the winning team of TI (The International) and then brought back when so a new cycle begins. It represents the champion of each season for Dota 2.

It appears that T1 has been cooking up this plan for a while because the team won’t be penalized for roster changes for the TI11 regional qualifier. The only time T1 changed players was once this season when they replaced Nuengnara “23savage” Teeramahanon for Gabbi back in February. Valve rules stat that any team that competes in a Major tournament with a substitute will incur a 40% penalty in DPC points earned from that tournament. However, with the DPC 2021-2022 season over, no more DPC points to be earned.

T1 has been known to collect big names in the pro-scene even outside of Dota 2. International League of Legends superstar Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, despite receiving huge offers from China, has stayed loyal to T1 through the years. In Valorant they also signed up  Son “xeta” Seon-ho and Yoon “Autumn” Eu-teum from Cloud9.

Dota 2 is available now on PC via Steam.

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