Topson Reveals How He and Ana Joined T1

Last night, T1 dropped a huge bombshell that surprised the entirety of the Dota 2 sphere. The Southeast Asian (SEA) organization has officially signed TI-winning duo, Topias "Topson" Taavitsainen and Anathan "ana" Pham ahead of the TI11 qualifiers. Do note that Topson is signed as a stand-in who will play throughout TI11 qualifiers and possibly TI11 as well.

Both the former OG cores were off the competitive scene for a while and their return sparked a wave of celebration. The OG Monkey Business Show uploaded a podcast with Topson as a guest, where he revealed the behind-the-scenes of his signing with T1.

Check out the full video of the podcast below!

By the end of the podcast (minute mark: 1:14:00) Topson revealed his new team, T1. JMR Luna asked him to elaborate how he got into the team and how the process was.

According to Topson, he wanted to find a team in Europe but it was difficult, so he was taking it easy and waiting for opportunities next year. However, ana approached him and suggested they play in T1 together. Despite initially not wanting to play in SEA, ana managed to convince Topson.

“I came to Finland, I was like maybe I’ll find a team. I didnt really try to push it too much. If I don’t find any team this season I’ll just wait for the next year, it might be better that way, just take it easy. But then ana talked to me and he was like ‘are you looking for team for the qualifiers’ and all these stuffs and I was like maybe? If you want to play or if you have something in mind, I'm down," said Topson.

Apparently, T1's coach, Park "March" Tae-won is a friend of ana. Due to the connections, ana was inclined to make him and Topson play under T1.

At first he asked which region Topson is interested in, "He was asking like NA? SEA? I was like EU is pretty hard to find a decent team.. NA I dont want to go there. China no. SEA? SEA could do it. And ana had contacts with T1, he has a friend there, March. So I guess ana was the one who was pushing for it at first. If ana is motivated to push for things, I’m like dude we are going,” said Topson.

JMR Luna added to the story. He said that ana messaged him,“I want to play with Topias, I want to play in T1. Will you make it happen?" JMR Luna responded, "If Topias wants to, I’ll make it happen."

The two believed ana wouldn't play at T1 if Topson is not alongside him. “I don’t think ana was going to join without Topson,” said JMR Luna. Topson agrees, “I doubt it.”

And so the return of the two TI winners who were a part of the OG legacy begins. Ana has finally made an official return to the competitive Dota 2 scene after almost 2 years of retirement. Meanwhile, Topson is ready to compete once again after sharpening his nails for the past 6 months.

JMR Luna asked Topson if he had played with the members of T1 before. After the removal of Karl "Karl" Baldovino and Kim "Gabbi" Santos, the remaining players of T1 are:

Since Topson had played in the SEA region for a while, he has certainly met these players in pubs. But he stated that he doesn't know the players that much. However, he had observed T1 throughout the year.

“I don’t really know them that much. Of course, I watched them, T1. They were better last year I think and this year they have been struggling more. I think the players are great.. It’s just about getting together and finally getting to talk Dota and all that stuff so we get to actually become a team and go through the qualifiers. Hopefully become the best SEA team at least so we can get to TI.”

It is definitely exciting to see the two prominent Dota 2 players make a return, and interestingly in a SEA team. The players will bootcamp in Singapore for a month and prepare for the highly anticipated TI11 qualifiers. The dates of the Regional Qualifiers are 3rd September to 18th September, which means the debut of T1's new star-studded roster will be soon.

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