Abed comes home as Blacklist unveils retooled Dota 2 roster

Filipino Dota 2 star Abed “Abed” Yusop is making a homecoming after joining Blacklist Rivalry for the brand new season.

Abed, who played in the North American region, is set to return to the Southeast Asia circuit and will be joining hands with Blacklist holdovers Timothy “Tims” Randrup and Raven “Raven” Fausto.

Also named to the team branded by Tier One Entertainment top boss Tryke Gutierrez as the “Redeem Team 2.0” were Kim “Gabbi” Santos and Juan Carlo “Carlo” Chua Manalo (formerly DBz).

Abed, who once played for Execration before moving on to NA region, was coming off an appearance in The International 2023 although his former team Shopify Rebellion suffered an early exit in the tournament.

Gabbi, likewise, saw action in the Dota 2’s crowning tournament with European team Entity. His team also fell short although not before pulling off a huge upset win over erstwhile defending champions Tundra Esports.

With addition of the three new players to the lineup, Blacklist is hoping to get over the hump and book its first TI appearance in its franchise since its formation last year.

Blacklist failed to deliver the expectations during its DPC runs last season before also falling short in the TI 2023 SEA qualifier, absorbing a 0-3 loss to Team SMG.

The retooled Blacklist team will get its first run in the ESL One Kuala Lumpur Open Qualifiers.