It’s been six days since the ONE Esports Singapore Major ended, which ultimately saw Invictus Gaming crowned as the best Dota 2 team in the world.

But while IG deserve their well-earned glory, we want to take a moment to shine a spotlight on OB.Neon, and the player we believe was the breakout star of the tournament: Erin “Yopaj” Ferrer.

OB.Neon’s well-documented run of bad luck started before the Major even started, when hard carry player, John “Natsumi-” Vargas, was sidelined for health concerns. Then replacement, Rafael “Rappy” Palo, also had to withdraw from the tournament under similar circumstances, forcing the team to pick up last-second stand-in, Yang “Deth” Wu Heng.

Despite all of the team’s troubles, they exceeded expectations, finishing in the Top 6 and playing some of the best Dota we saw at the tournament. Fittingly, as the team’s midlaner, it was Yopaj who was at the center of it all.

Showing up against Fnatic

Yopaj proved at the Singapore Major that he could go toe-to-toe with any midlaner in the world. During OB.Neon’s first game against Fnatic, Yopaj had a 15/4/14 KDA performance using Puck against his SEA rivals.

In the close-out game, Yopaj finished with an 11/1/10 KDA record on the Void Spirit and eliminated Fnatic from the tournament.

In OB.Neon’s next elimination match against Vici Gaming, Yopaj had two insane Puck games that eliminated the former ONE Esports Dota 2 World Pro Singapore Invitational champions.

Yopaj recorded a 10/1/23 KDA in Game 2, then a perfect 13/0/9 during Game 3.



Finally, we have the best highlight of the tournament, which featured a David and Goliath elimination match between underdog squad OB.Neon and arguably the best team coming into the tournament, Team Secret.

On paper, the match was not even supposed to be close. But because everyone on OB.Neon was determined to make it as far as they could in the tournament, they proved that they’re capable of beating any team.

While OB.Neon lost Game 1 to Secret, Yopaj showed he came to play, finishing with a 7/2/8 KDA.

In the next game, Yopaj showed his diverse hero pool by playing the Batrider, and helped his team get a come-from-behind win against Team Secret.

Finally, in the last game of the series, which will be remembered as one of the best individual tournament performances in Dota 2 history, Yopaj was in the zone against Team Secret with his Windranger recording a 14/4/14 KDA record, even in a loss. 

He was also involved in every one of OB.Neon’s 25 kills, which, as Ben “Noxville” Steenhuisen pointed out, is a simply insane stat.

Yopaj finished the tournament with an impressive 8.7/2.74/10.3 KDA average, proving that he’s more than capable of playing against top international competition. 

At only 19 years old, you can definitely consider Yopaj one of the best up-and-coming stars of the game, and we can’t wait to see him play again.

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