Johan Åström, better known as PieLieDie, was on a hiatus after his Dota 2 team Newbee decided to disband following their The International 2019 campaign. Interestingly, based on the Valve team registration page, the pro player is expected to join forces with T1 in an attempt to establish its roster.
During The International 2019, T1 revealed that it planned to form its very own Dota 2 pro team. The organization eventually signed the South Korean veteran Lee “Forev” Sang-don. They then introduced a five-man roster when competing at VKGAME Battle of Dawn. Unfortunately, right after their run, none of the players decided to stick around.
PieLieDie was the only player who did not join a new team following Newbee’s TI9 campaign and disbandment. But as far as the aforementioned registration page is concerned, he might become the captain of a team believed to be a stronghold in the Southeast Asian region.
It holds true that by having both Forev and PieLieDie added to the roster would already be a promising start. However, it should be noted that more signings are going to happen in the next few weeks or so, especially if the team really plans to be part of this year’s DreamLeague Season 13 Major Qualifiers. The tournament is scheduled to begin on December 1.
Apparently, there are a handful of names believed to be go-to pickups for T1’s full roster. The biggest one yet is none other than Yeik “MidOne” Nai Zheng. In case you did not know, he was recently placed on an inactive roster after spending at least three years with Tier 1 Dota 2 organization Team Secret. Right now, MidOne is said to be taking an “extended break” from competitive Dota 2.
As of this writing, no official announcement has been made by T1. It could be that the organization is just waiting to finalize the roster before making an official announcement. For now, it is best to keep an eye on the team registry.
