Blacklist International Announces the Departure of Raven

In an announcement published on its social media accounts, Filipino organization Blacklist International revealed the departure of its carry player Polo “Raven” Fausto from the Dota 2 roster. Raven leaves the organization after serving for over a year after being part of the first drafted roster. A series of subpar results during the 2023 competitive season, which extended into early 2024, likely led to the decision to move on as the team failed to prove its mettle as a unit despite the presence of notable individual talents. There will soon be an announcement about the new Blacklist International carry player.

Blacklist International to reveal a new carry player after Raven’s exit

“Today we announce the departure of Raven from #BlacklistRivalryOne of the original members of our redemption team, we can’t thank him enough for the hard work and dedication during his time with us. Thank you Raven, we’ll see you in-game soon,” Blacklist wrote on Twitter.

As a result of the move, Blacklist’s Dota 2 roster is now in search of a new carry player.

1. TBD

2. Abed “Abed” Yusop

3. Kim “Gabbi” Santos

4. Timothy John “TIMS” Randrup

5. Carlo “Carlo” Manalo

Raven was a member of Blacklist’s first Dota 2 roster in late 2022, along with TIMS. While players came and went from the roster during the 2023 competitive season, these two players remained. As far as the results were concerned, excluding the team’s qualification for the Bali Major 2023, where a 13th-14th place finish was also disappointing, Blacklist never truly appeared as a formidable force rising from the SEA region.

TIMS and Raven were retained for the 2024 competitive season, with three new players joining, but the team failed to qualify for BetBoom Dacha Dubai and DreamLeague Season 22 in a stacked SEA qualifier, leading to the continuity of mediocre results. The only positive development was the win at Asia Pacific Predator League 2024.

Raven has consistently been among the most sought after carry players in the SEA region, solidifying his reputation as a dependable position one player that any team can rely on. Given his stature, his departure from the team is an unusual development, and his future remains currently uncertain. 

Meanwhile, Blacklist will announce a new carry player shortly, most likely before the qualifiers for ESL One Birmingham 2024 kick off. There are only a few days until the qualifiers begin, thus any final roster changes that Blacklist wants to make are anticipated to be completed during this time.