As reported by us last week, Fnatic’s Daryn “iceiceice” Koh Pei Xiang has been notoriously absent from his teams—or should we say [SPOILER ALERT] former team— for a while now. It wasn’t until Fnatic released an official statement through their website that iceiceice’s break became a complete departure.
“Today, we announce that Daryl “iceiceice” Koh’s contract with Fnatic has expired and he has opted not to renew it for the following year,” begins the crushing announcement. While no explicit reason is given, Fnatic states that throughout his hiatus, iceiceice had picked up interest in other regions’ scenarios, opting to explore his options. Many speculate Daryn might be heading overseas, once again—perhaps a Chinese deal is on the tables?
Daryn had join Fnatic’s roster since September 2018, being described by Fnatic themselves as “the heart” of their team. He became an exceptional leader, leading Fnatic to its current status as the best SEA Dota 2 roster. Amongst other important titles obtained under Daryn’s leadership, we have the TI9 qualification, a 5-tournament winning streak at the beginning of 2020 and a outstanding 3rd place finish at the Stockholm Major.
The news of iceiceice’s departure caused a deep sense of despair amongst Fnatic and their loyal fanbase. Back in January, Fnatic seemed to be taking the Dota 2 eSport scene over. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, the team’s glorious journey was interrupted. As the eSport scene quickly evolved to adapt to the new conditions, motivation among team members wavered. Daryn specially began reconsidering his options and long-term goals. Reportedly, this began causing issues inside the team, eventually affecting the team’s chemistry, and, of course, their performance. Daryn’s departure leaves Fnatic’s roster unstable—it’ll take the team a while to recover the same chemistry they had back on January.
Nico “eyyou” Barcelon is also parting ways with Fnatic after trialing one week as captain. Are these departures signals that something else in wrong within the team? Will the new, revamped roster lead Fnatic back to their glory? Only time will tell. We can only watch closely and hope for the best.