HEROIC sign Peruvian pubstar in the mid lane, DavaiLama removed from active roster

Following a difficult start to the new year, HEROIC are once again making roster changes.

After losing to Peru Rejects in the DreamLeague Season 28 qualifiers, HEROIC are entering the ESL One Birmingham 2026 qualifiers with a revamped line-up. South America’s best Dota 2 team waved goodbye to Cedric “Davai Lama” Deckmyn and moved Adrián "Wisper" Dobles back to his offlane position.

“Due to recent challenges with performance, we’ve made the difficult decision to move DavaiLama off the active roster,” the organisation announced on X. “We want to thank Cedric for his contributions, wishing him nothing but the best in the next chapter of his career.”

This is marks the team's second roster adjustment this year, following Elvis "Scofield" Peña's departure after a disastrous run at DreamLeague Season 27. Earlier this month, HEROIC welcomed Thiago "Thiolicor" Cordeiro in the soft support role, only to lose the DreamLeague Season 28 qualifiers to Peru Rejects, who now feature two of their former players, Scofiled and Parker.

For the squad that secured a top-six finish at The International 2025, the loss is symptomatic of a bigger slump. HEROIC’s performance has consistently declined, with placements dropping to a top-eight finish at PGL Wallachia Season 6 and a 17th-21st place result at DreamLeague Season 27.

A pubstar to the rescue

HEROIC's new hope rests in 16-year-old mid lane prodigy Santiago "TaiLung" Gustavo, who first got the pro scene’s attention when he was 14 years old and hit 11k MMR and 3rd on the Americas leaderboard. He immediately began playing with various stacks in the SA region, but he qualified for the first time to a tier 1 tournament only in September 2025. Back then, he competed with Chimpanzini Banananini, later signed by Amaru Gaming, and took down OG.LATAM to qualify for DreamLeague Season 27.

TaiLung is now poised to compete with his first Tier 1 organization under the HEROIC banner as they fight for a spot at ESL One Birmingham 2026.

HEROIC roster

• Yuma "Yuma" Langle
• Santiago "TaiLung" Gustavo
• Adrián "Wisper" Dobles
• Thiago "Thiolicor" Cordeiro
• Matheus "KJ" Diniz
• coach: Igor "kaffs" Estevão

ESL One Birmingham South America qualifiers are set to commence this coming Sunday, January 18. Eight teams will battle for a single spot at the $1,000,000 tournament. HEROIC will face a renewed challenge from Peru Rejects and TaiLung's former squad, Amaru Gaming, so stay tuned to rdy.gg to see if this latest change can help HEROIC break their slump and return to form.