Captain of Talon Esports, Carlo “Kuku” Karandang Palad, talked about his team's current state, plans for BLAST Slam II, and the challenges and strengths of the Southeast Asia region. In the interview, he shared his thoughts on the issues of finding team synergy and the differences between regions.
How do you evaluate the last two years of your career?
That time was difficult for me. I had trouble finding a team, so I shifted my focus to streaming, even though I was still playing Dota. After T1 disbanded, I decided I didn't want to captain anymore and joined Blacklist International but it did not end well after a string of poor performances especially at TI 2024 qualifiers and Riyadh Master 2024.
How did you end up in Talon Esports?
They were looking to replace their pos5 player and contacted me. I agreed to stand in for some tournaments, and we qualified. Later, I also enjoyed playing with them in a LAN setting, and got offered a contract soon after.
What challenges did you face when transitioning from offlaner to support?
Because I've often switched roles, I need at least two months to get into shape in a new one. For example, I've transitioned from mid to offlane in the past. So, role changes aren't a big problem for me but just that it takes time.
What strategy do you want to develop in Talon?
I just want Talon to become more stable in the mid to late game so we can close out the game. We don't want to play the classic YOLO-esque SEA Dota. We want to be like the water – go with the flow and just be stable.
What is the team's weakness?
Our nerves are our biggest weakness. It doesn’t allow us to play our normal game.
And what is your strength?
I think our greatest strength as a team is the trust we have in each other. We're confident in our ability to deliver high-level Dota and do good for the Southeast Asian (SEA) region.
How did your series against Team Liquid and Team Spirit go at the FISSURE Playground #1?
We made a comeback in game two. I think we're leading a little so after game two, we said that we can beat this team then it's like we just trusted each other again and ended up defeating Team Liquid.
We lost to Team Spirit because, as I said earlier, they were more stable in the mid to late game compared to us. We had a lead but couldn’t capitalize on it and thus ended up losing. But we can learn from that and improve for other tournaments.
How do you see the difference between Dota 2 in SEA and Europe?
The main difference is in strategy. Each team and region has its unique identity, but SEA often copies strategies from other regions. We don't create our strategies, and this harms the entire region.
Right now, I'd say we're the more stable team compared to them. However, it won't be easy because teams can improve rapidly and the situation may change at any point. It's a toss-up; we can beat them, and they can beat us but I can't say we'll always win.
What are your expectations for BLAST Slam II?
Achieving at least top 4 is something we are aiming for but ultimately it depends on how we play and execute our strategies.
Blast SLAM II takes place from February 2 to February 9 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Teams are competing for a prize pool of $1,000,000. Find out which teams are participating in the tournament and their results by following the link.
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