The second seed Chinese seed, Team Zero, has been shown the exit door at The International 2024 (TI13), after falling to 1W Team in a lower bracket fixture on Monday. The Eastern European representative 1w Team emerged victorious in a 2-0 defeat.
From Game One to Game Two In Game One, Team Zero failed to match the prowess of their opponents as Aleksandr “Cloud” Zakharov’s Beastmaster took Game One, while Nikita “Munkushi~” Chepurnykh’s dominated with a big Windranger performance that secured the win.
Team Zero has now been eliminated with 13th-16th place, although they still managed an estimated $40,000 of the TI13 prize pool. While the Team’s performances could have been better, Singaporian and the four-position of the Team, Remus “ponlo” Goh Zhi Xian, won the hearts of fans and neutrals with his social media engagements and personality. One of the things he did was to Rey and do the elusive “bald buff” shaving his head before The International 2024.
Ponlo’s lucky charm didn’t work out as planned. Unfortunately, the lucky charm didn’t favor the Chinese side, with Ponlo and his squad being eliminated. The SEA support star has moved around a number of times, including short stints on Geek Fam, Resurgence, and MS Chonburi. However, he became prominent and popular during the Covid-19 after some quality performances with Quincy Crew.
Afterwards, he moved to Team Fusion and Aster. Aries, establishing himself in the western scene with Alliance only to return to SEA after a season with the Team. On his return to SEA, he competed with Malaysian Team MAG before moving to the Chinese Team Zero. Despite the stint with Team Zero being short, Ponlo has carved a reputation for being a selfless player with innovative performances.
Unfortunately for 1W, who knocked out Team Zero’s opponents, had their joy reduced as their celebration was cut short by getting knocked out by Team Falcons just one game later.
