South Korean professional Esports organisation, T1 announced on Twitter that they are parting ways with Lee “Forev” Sang-don after 11 months of working together.
This is no surprise especially when the athlete has struggled to produce results through out the 2019-2020 Dota 2 season.
The 28-year-old was the first player the organisation signed in August 2019.
Who is Forev?
Forev started making waves in the Esports world when he was with the MVP Phoenix team in 2013. The team did well enough to qualify for the The International 2014 where they came in 17th place.
Forev Career Timeline
In 2015, when the team (MVP Phoneix) failed to win the Dota 2 Asian Championships, he was then transferred to MVP HOT6ix.
He continued playing with MVP HOT6ix following T15 but the following December, he was transferred back to MVP Phoneix. His addition provided a big boost to the team. This time round the team placed fourth in the Shanghai Major and came in fifth at the Manila Major.
Forev and his team also successfully clinched first place in Dota Pit League Season 4 and WePlay Dota 2 League season 3. Their efforts finally paid off and they were soon invited to The International 2016, where the team placed fifth.
When he was at the peak of his career, Forev then decided to split off from MVP for the first time to join Team Secret. However, his time at the European powerhouse was short-lived as he returned back to his previous team, MVP Phoenix just a few months later.
But that was not the last of his move. When MVP Phoenix team came in last place in the Boston Major, they finally disbanded. This time round Forev was found with the Digital Chaos team. That season, Forev was seen competing on three different continents.
Luck was still not on the athlete side. Forev alongside his Digital Chaos team struggled to find a momentum but did well enough to clear the North American qualifiers for the International 2017. That year, the team came in ninth place.
Then, Forev returned back to South Korea to reunite with the 2-16 MVP Phoenix team for the Dota Pro Circuit event. Even then, Forev and his teammates struggle to find a foothold in tournaments. Forev then made the decision to leave in December.
For the first time in his professional career, Forev had to miss The International tournament in 2018 after failing to secure a team.
He then joined forces with former MVP Phoenix Player, Park “March” Tae-Won where Forev played with the North American squad Marchoutofarmy. The team was doing relatively well but not well enough to above the seventh position in tournaments.
After his long professional journey, he finally took a break from DOTA 2. However his love for the game was too strong that he decided to team up with March after being kicked out of J.Storm.
After The International 2019, Forev joined T1 as the first member of the team.
He is currently ranked 30th in South Korea and 213rd in the world.
What next for Forev?
Throughout his time with T1, Forev effort and determination has certainly paid off. Thanks to his hardwork, the team managed to win two minor tournaments – the Hephaestus cup and the SEA Dota Invitational 2020. In addition to that, the team also came in fourth place during the ONE Esports DOTA 2 Sea League.
The organisation has yet to neither announce the replacement for Forev nor have mentioned where Forev is heading to next.
With his professional career at stake, will Forev be able to find a team that he can compete with?
Only time will tell. But, it is a certain that this will not be the last of Forev.
We wish Forev and T1 all the best with their future.
