Yet another team is going to be playing without its full roster at the ONE Esports Singapore Major after T1 announced Carlo “Kuku” Palad would not be traveling with the team to the event.
Instead, the organization is bringing its first Dota 2 player, Lee “Forev” Sang-don, back to fill the void and try to fight through the Wild Card stage.
According to T1, Kuku is dealing with a “health problem” that will keep him from attending the Major. No further details have been shared by the organization, but in a set of deleted posts to his social pages, Kuku confirmed he tested positive for COVID-19.
Forev has played with multiple members of the current T1 roster in the past, so this isn’t the most damaging hit for T1. However, it could still impact how the team performs at the Major, especially with the organization just recently replacing Souliya “JaCkky” Khoomphetsavong with Nuengnara “23savage” Teeramahanon.
This marks the fifth team that has had to replace a player due to COVID-19, with T1 joining Natus Vincere, Neon Esports, Quincy Crew, and most recently, Nigma. Na’Vi is still the only team that has lost more than one player due to the ongoing health protocols.
The ONE Esports Singapore Major will begin on March 27.
