The International What If: Geek Fam
Ask every Dota player and they will say playing in The International is an achievement in itself. This is most especially true for professional players and their respective organizations.
Many organizations try and fail to get a spot to Dota 2’s grandest spectacle every year — save for 2020 since no TI happened due to the ongoing pandemic. Unfortunately, Geek Fam is one of many esports organizations that have consistently missed any TI events.
Geek Fam is an esports organization that hails from Malaysia and thus plays in the Southeast Asian region. The organization had always possessed a Dota 2 roster from 2016 until their final roster disbandment on September 4, 2020.
As a Dota 2 organization, Geek Fam has never set foot in any TI event. However, it does not mean that their lineups throughout the years lacked the potential. In fact, ten former Geek Fam players will be attending this year’s TI.
NothingToSay
via Liquipedia
Geek Fam’s former 2019 squad member Cheng “NothingToSay” Jin Xiang is a player signed by EHOME and is currently loaned for PSG.LGD. NothingToSay’s PSG.LGD squad recently won the WePlay AniMajor which secured them an invite to TI 10.
The Invictus Gaming Duo
via Liquipedia | JT- is on the left while Oli~ is the one holding the Dota Summit 11 duck trophy
Thiay “JT-” Jun Wen and Chan “Oli~” Chon Kien now play for the Chinese organization Invictus Gaming. They were part of Geek Fam’s roster for the 2018 TI Open Qualifiers. Invictus Gaming earned a spot for TI 10 by earning 1100 points in the DPC.
The Fnatic Pair
via Fnatic Dota’s Facebook page
Fnatic’s current roster contains two former Geek Fams. Marc Polo Luis “Raven” Fausto and Ng “ChYuan” Kee Chyuan qualified for TI 10 after completing an astonishing reverse sweep against TNC in the SEA Qualifiers.
The T1 Quad
via T1’s Facebook page
After their stint with the last iteration of Geek Fam’s Dota 2 roster, Karl “Karl” Matthew Baldovino, Carlo “Kuku” Palad, Kenny “Xepher” Deo, and Matthew “Whitemon” Filemon are currently part of T1’s roster. The quad recently won the ESL One Summer 2021 going 3-2 against Virtus.pro.
The Undying DuBu
via DuBu’s Twitter account
South Korean player Kim “DuBu” Doo-young played for Geek Fam back in 2019 before being released in January 2020. He now plays for Team Undying that recently qualified for TI10 in the North American qualifiers.
It is a tad unfortunate for Geek Fam to have never reached The International. Were they cursed with bad luck? Were they not patient enough to wait for their players to bloom into their fullest potentials? Perhaps the pandemic was a critical factor as well. Whatever the reason, one thing remains certain: Geek Fam definitely had an eye for Dota 2 talent.
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