Chai "Mushi" Yee Fung, one of the most prominent icons in the Dota scene, has been tapped as coach by Filipino squad TNC Predator for upcoming The International (TI) 10 Southeast Asia qualifier.
The team announced the acquisition of the 30-year-old Malaysian veteran on Monday night, June 21.
"We believe that his insights and experience in the game will help us achieve our goal to claim the prestigious Aegis this year," the team said in the post.
"A new beginning towards the same goal. Fighting!" Mushi said through his official Facebook page.
Mushi's rise in the Dota 2 professional scene started in Orange Esports which he steered to a 7th-8th place finish in TI2 and an infamous third place in TI3 wherein they lost to eventual runner-up Na'Vi partly due to an Aegis of Immortal deny by Lee "kYxY" Kong Yang.
He moved to China's Team DK to form a super team with Daryl "iceiceice" Koh Pei Xiang and Xu "BurNIng" Zhilei but they failed to win the Aegis of Champions in TI4, settling for the fourth spot.
Mushi then returned to Malaysia and joined Fnatic. After a dismal 13th-16th placing in TI5, Mushi and the squad which also features Filipino pro Djardel "Dj" Mampusti emphatically bounced back in TI6 with a fourth-place performance.
But a decline in succeeding tournaments prompted Mushi to leave Fnatic and move to Mineski which he helped rule the Dota Asia Championships 2018--the first Major victory for the SEA region--before competing in TI8 where they ended up at 9th-12th. He served as coach in TI9 where the team wound up on the same finish.
After his stint with Mineski, the Malaysian journeyman went on to play for different teams including Tigers, Geek Fam, Team Aster and most recently, Team SMG wherein he teamed up with Yeik "MidOne" Nai Zheng.
Now, Mushi has found himself in a new team in TNC Predator which he will look to guide to a successful campaign in the bloody TI10 SEA qualifier on June 30-July 3.
Mushi and TNC will battle it out against his former teams Fnatic and Team SMG as well as other formidable squads in Execration, OB x Neon Esports and Motivate.Trust Gaming.
A total of 15 teams will clash for the region's lone ticket to T10 and bring the Southeast Asian representatives to two along with T1 led by Carlo "Kuku" Palad.
Staking the biggest prize pool in the history of esports at $40 million (P1.9 billion), the TI10 will happen on August 5-15 in Stockholm, Sweden.