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Immortals, the multi-game esports organization, has officially announced their acquisition of Team Phoenix, the Korean Dota 2 team composed of MVP Phoenix’s roster from The International 6.
As part of the announcement, the organization released a “hype trailer”/announcement video featuring all five players of the team.
“Team Phoenix has a long history of competitive success at the highest levels and was the first Korean team to advance to The International,” Immortals stated in a press release. “Just as important, Team Phoenix shares Immortals’ core values and vision for the future of Dota 2 and esports.”
All five members of the roster split apart after The International 2016 onto different teams around the world: Digital Chaos in America, European powerhouse Team Secret and SEA team Fnatic. Upon reuniting, Kim "QO" Seon-yeop tweeted the roster, followed by “샤봉디제도.” This references the show One Piece: specifically, a plot in which the main characters train for two years before returning as a crew.
He tweeted again to confirm the roster as Team Phoenix:
Team pheonix roster: qo,mp,forev,febby,dubu as you already know
— QO (@QOdota) September 7, 2017
Since then, the team has attempted to play in North American events, including King’s Cup, which led many fans to correlate their play to the North American Immortals’s search for a team. All of Immortals’s other teams are based in the United States, and CEO Noah Whinston replied to an inquiry Tweet stating the org is “open to players from any region but are looking for a team willing to establish a presence in NA.”
It seems that the team will definitely make some form of physical presence in the United States. The press release promises not only extensive “behind the scenes content throughout the season,” but also local meet-and-greet opportunities near the LA area, where Immortals is based.
Immortals as an org is accomplished in the esports sphere. The team has acquired one of the Overwatch League slots through investments from several companies. Its League of Legends team earned a slot at the cumulative Worlds event and won second in the regional league, the NA LCS.