Thunder Awaken finished 5th-6th place during The International 2022. This made them the first Dota 2 team from South America to finish in the top six. Despite that, the team is no more as the remaining members of the roster have been released.
The members released were Crhistian "Pakazs" Casanova, Farith "Matthew" Huamancaja, and Jose "Pandaboo" Hernandez.
In a Facebook post, Thunder Awaken shared that when this new project started the goal was to return to TI and they are happy to have achieved that. The top six finish isn't even limited to TI since they also did that at ESL One Malaysia and ESL One Stockholm. The team went on to say that they're happy to share these achievements and that fans need not worry since they remain committed to Dota 2 and will continue participating.
A Rumored Transfer
That the three remaining members have left is not really surprising. Rumors have been going around that Evil Geniuses may be changing regions and signing the three as part of the new roster. While there's no word yet from EG, we'll probably have to watch out what happens in the coming days. This is not the first time that EG is jumping regions. EG had previously joined Western Europe, though it was temporary.
The same rumors also claim that the remaining two members are likely going to be former Beastcoast players Jean "Chris Luck" Salazar and Adrián "Wisper" Dobles. Hopefully, we'll learn more about this soon.
Early Departure
Prior to the three remaining members of Thunder Awaken leaving, Herrera "DarkMago" Gonzalo made the decision to leave at the end of October. In a Facebook post, DarkMango revealed that while their performance was not bad, they had expected more and thought they could go even further. He thanked his teammates for the support and apologized for what he believes is giving little in return.
After DarkMago left, it was now Rafael "Sacred" Yonatan who would leave. The two are now part of Beastcoast.
The SA Scene
When The International 2022 ended, it was clear that the teams in South America were better compared to those in North America. It’ll be interesting to see what SA would look like once the roster shuffle is done and the new DPC starts.
What about you? What did you think of South American Dota 2 teams this year?
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