With the exception of the China region, qualifiers for the Dota 2 ESL One Los Angeles 2020 have wrapped up. Over at SEA, Geek Fam has officially qualified and fans are sure to be excited. Geek Fam securing a place means that region favorites Carlo "Kuku" Palad and Marc Polo Luis "Raven" Fausto are participating in a Major tournament again.
Both Kuku and Raven were teammates back on TNC Predator. They became known, particularly Kuku, during The International 2016 when TNC eliminated OG, the favorites to win that year's TI. It was Kuku on Huskar with Raven on Drow Ranger that appeared to turn the game in their favor.
After a rather disappointing finish by TNC at TI8, Raven made the decision to leave and join Lotac. He eventually became part of Geek Fam’s roster.
Kuku stayed at TNC, eventually becoming a Team Captain. However it meant that he would have to take on a support position. Last season, he was banned at the Chongqing Major on allegations of using a racist slur in chat while in a pub game. While he was still able to play at TI9, he sent out feelers afterwards on his plans to possibly leave TNC. That was when he officially left TNC and joined Geek Fam.
During the new DPC Season at the MDL Chengdu Major, Geek Fam was not able to hurdle past the competition at the qualifiers. To their credit, they did secure a spot for the Dota Summit 11 Minor. However, the team failed to even make it to the Playoffs during the Minor.
It was pretty much the same for DreamLeague Season 13 as Geek Fam again failed to make the cut, but managed to secure a spot for the WePlay! Bukovel Minor. Despite a strong performance at the start of the Minors, the team wasn't able to beat Nigma and was promptly eliminated.
Fortunately, it looks like the third time’s the charm as this time they dominated their group during the qualifiers for the ESL One LA 2020. They managed to beat out IO Dota 2 in order to get that spot to the Majors.
Completing the Geek Fam roster are Karl “Karl" Jayme, Kenny "Xepher" Deo, and Matthew "Whitemon" Filemon.
So are you excited yet to see Kuku and Raven back in action at a Major tournament?
