Fnatic finally ended its part in this year’s post-International roster shuffle drama, as Southeast Asia’s number one Dota 2 team finally filled out its squad and is now ready for the upcoming major tournaments this fall.
American Jimmy “DeMoN” Ho and Filipino pair Marc Polo Luis “Raven” Fausto and Nico “eyyou” Barcelon, who are all former members of TNC Pro Team, have now brought their talents to Malaysia and will carry the Fnatic banner along with team captain Chai “Mushi” Yee Fun and Khoo “Ohaiyo” Chong Xin.
In this series of introductions, we’ll share a few facts about the trio who will now wear the Fnatic crest on their chests!
Nico “eyyou” Barcelon
Unheralded and unsung, such is the life of a support in the chaotic but magnificent world of Dota 2.
The carries get the kills, the midlaners and offlaners get the gold, and the supports are left with a lifetime of warding, initiating and the perpetual problem of having an insufficient supply of hit points.
But it is the life that Nico “eyyou” Barcelon has chosen, and based on the achievements he has bagged in his professional esports career, this less glamourous part in Dota 2 suits him really, really well.
NO QUIT
It took Barcelon a long time to reach the upper echelon of pro esports in the SEA region, as he flunked his early attempts to climb the elite Class S and saw many a team rise and fall through the Class A and Class B qualifiers in his home country, the Philippines.
But the gritty support was determined to make it to the big leagues of Dota 2, so he kept on teaming up with players like him who want to prove themselves against not only the top Pinoy Dota players, but also those famous names living abroad.
TIMELY, NICE CHANCE
eyyou’s career finally turned around in early 2015 when he got picked up by TheNet.Com, who was by then signing competitive players to enter the exciting Dota 2 scene in the SEA region.
Along with Jhonel Jay “seven” Maguddayao, Mark Louise “xLucky” Tuazon Reyes, John Linuel “Teehee” Abanto and Sam “Sam_H” Hidalgo, TnC Pro Team was built and eyyou was chosen to lead the young pack as its captain.
Like any other team it was not always smiles for TnC, but because of the solidarity and stability of the squad it began its campaign on a positive note, winning $3000 in two small-time monthly competitions before going on to qualify for its first premier competition later that year – the World Cyber Arena 2015.
Facing teams like Invictus Gaming, Fnatic, Liquid, and Alliance, the experience for TnC was like being thrown out of the cooking pot but landing onto the blazing fire.
But instead of getting burned the Filipino team kept its cool and fought on, and even marched its way into the playoffs, though the team finished tied for 5th to 8th spot after it got knocked out by Liquid in just the first round of the main event.
TnC will once again send shockwaves to the world when it signed veteran DeMoN to help the team make it to the International 2016, where it will complete one of the biggest upsets in Valve’s history after knocking out two-time major winner Team OG.
THE PRO
From struggling to make it to a LAN tournament in his hometown to playing in the biggest stage of Dota 2, you can say that the support player has made it, and that the TnC-eyyou relationship is as strong as it was long.
Many fans believed it was not possible, that the long standing partnership between offlaner Sam_H and eyyou will end after such a fantastic run to TI6. The two were the only ones left in TnC’s original quintet, and many things were in line for their new five that stunningly defeated the “unbeatable” OG.
But, as he had during the days when he was one among many who scampers for a chance to ply his talents in the big leagues, eyyou had to make a professional choice regarding his future. Should he stay with the team that helped him begin, or answer the call of another squad oversea?
And like a true pro, he decided that he needed to close one door to open another. He left TnC days after the Valve roster shuffle period began, and later joined Fnatic along with Raven and DeMoN.
“First of all I would like to thank TNC for all the help and guidance that they gave me for more than a year and a half. They are not just a simple team but also a family to me,” said Barcelon.
“Now that this new chapter is open, I am very excited to play under Fnatic as this will be my first international team. This is a big step for me but I’m very confident to play with this team and hope to deliver more success for Fnatic.”
BUILDER
What was it again?
Unheralded and unsung but still helpful by the buckets, the life of a support that Nico “eyyou” Barcelon chose and performs really well.
As a former captain, and as one of the uprising support players in the world, expect eyyou to be the bridge between his old and his new teammates and the one who will make sure that team will not lack in intangibles like chemistry and trust and that communication between players is always fluid.
Barcelon will go through a change of scenery more than a change of team as he flies to Malaysia, but it will be exciting to see how this guy experienced of climbing through the ranks will continue his uphill journey now that he has more established players in his side.
