Dota 2’s Complete Roster Changes.. So far!

August 29, 2016 | 0 | 1621| |

The post-Ti reshuffle period has begun and many teams have been shaken to core as some of them have dropped iconic players such as – EG.Fear, IG.Ferrari_430 and three members from the original Alliance.

While many of these players haven’t been announced as a part of a new roster some teams have survived the reshuffle – such as Na’Vi and AD Finem.

It is already known in the Dota 2 eSports scene, that after every major Valve event, many of the higher ranking teams are bound to suffer roster changes.

Yet nothing prepared us for this year’s reshuffle period, that took us by surprise when Team Secret and EG revealed a series of roster changes that swept the rug under the fans feet.

Before many could comprehend what was going on and the departure of many beloved players, Alliance delivered another blow to it’s fans by announcing the departure of three of three players.

The Chinese also picked up the pace, with LGD.Maybe’s alleged departure from the team despite being under a valid, unfinished contract -although recently rebuked by the organization – and Ferrari_430’s leave from IG, after a 5 year run.

It is worth noting that this article is a rather shallow dive, as the scene was shaken to the core in the past few days and we will try our best to address all of the major changes and announcements.

The SEA-side Squad

Team Secret were the first to announce their new team roster, a mix of high profile SEA players alongside European players. Clement “Puppey” Ivanov and Johan”pieliedie” Åström are the only members of the former Team Secret teams, player who have been joined by Pyo “MP” No-a, Yeik “MidOne” Nai Zheng and Lee “Forev” Sang-don.

(embed: https://twitter.com/wykrhm/status/769612366719791104)

Meanwhile the fate of Artour “Arteezy” Babaev, Jacky “EternalEnVy” Mao and Sam “Bulba” Sosale, who have parted ways with the team, remain uncertain and have been up for speculation by the community.

The end of an era

While Team Secret was announcing their new roster and community was trying to grasp the concept, EG delivered even grimmer news with the departure of two of their iconic players – Clinton “Fear” Loomis and Ludwig “zai” Wåhlberg.

Fear’s departure marks the end of an era in Dota 2 as he is one of the true veterans of Dota 2, often known as “old man Fear”.

Clinton is one of the oldest and most respected Dota 2 players as his professional DotA career can be traced back to 2006 when he was picked up by compLexity Gaming.

It is unknown if Fear will ever return to the Dota 2 scene in any shape or form, as rumors of his retirement have been circulating for almost an year now.

Fear has also posted a rather cryptic tweet that suggest he might retire:

Legacy

— Clinton Loomis (@FearDotA) August 27, 2016

As for EG’s support player Ludwig “zai” Wåhlberg, he has been an on and off player for EG. After winning ESL One Frankfurt 2015, zai decided to take some time off the Dota 2 scene to finish his studies, leaving EG in need of a new player until his return. Ludwing returned to EG on the 13th of June, just in time for The International 6 Open Qualifiers.

EG has also recently announced the departure of their third player- Syed Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan leaving the team at a crossroads. In contrast with Fear, SumaiL was the youngest player to ever win a TI and one Dota 2’s success pubstar stories.

Sumail joined the organization two years ago , at the age 15 and caught everybody by surprise with his outstanding plays as midlaner. He’s understanding of the mid lane and mid heroes rivaled the likes of Dendi and Mushi and paved the way for the concept of recruiting high ranking pub players.

The Year of the Rat

Alliance has also been struck by the wind of change as three players have left the organization. Fans and colleagues alike have to say goodbye to Gustav “s4” Magnusson, Henrik “AdmiralBulldog” Ahnberg and Joakim “Akke” Akterhall, leaving Jonathan “Loda” Berg and Jerry “EGM” Lundkvist the only members of the rat squad.

Alliance Roster Update. #DropPhase #FallShuffle pic.twitter.com/gm0BdW3ww0

— Wykrhm Reddy (@wykrhm) August 28, 2016

S4 and AdmiralBulldog have released statements regarding their departure, citing the need to further evolve within the scene and wishing the best of luck to their former team. In the meanwhile Loda also released a statement, that strung a cord in all Alliance fans, as Loda was grateful to play and reunite with the original squad but “ all good things have to come to an end”
Alliance was fully reunited on the 27th of August, last year, when Gustav “s4” Magnusson joined his former colleagues and friends, after parting ways with Team Secret. Since then. Alliance have had months of utter dominance within the scene that couple with moments of falter and misdirection that ultimately led them to be finish on the 9th-12th place at The International 6.

The light at the end of the tunnel

Fortunately, the fans of Natus Vincere and AD Finem have had a more pleasant ride in the past few days after both teams have announced that they won’t bring any changes to their roster and will continue training for the upcoming Major.

Natus Vincere. #FallShuffle pic.twitter.com/aUYuSZFD9g

— Wykrhm Reddy (@wykrhm) August 28, 2016

While AD Finem didn’t manage to qualify for TI6, Na’Vi had a spectacular run at the event, but their wings were clipped in the Main Event Lower Bracket, by Team Liquid.

Despite these results, both teams have decided to double down on their efforts, learn from their mistakes and continue to improve for the upcoming Fall Major.

That’s All Folks!… Or not.

There are many teams that have also announced either a disband or the desire to continue with the same roster.

OG have have also decided to part ways with some of their players. dropping their MVP player Amer “Miracle-” Barqawi as well as David “MoonMeander” Tan and Andreas “Cr1t-” Franck Nielsen. Neither the teams nor the players commented on this matter.

LGD.Maybe was allegedly freed from contract but this story has been denied by the Chinese organization, announcing that new LGD roster will be built around Maybe.

IG.Ferrari_430 has also left the team after a 5 years of service. Neither the team nor the player have cited any reasons for this departure. Luo “Ferrari_430” Feichi nicknamed “The Pianist” by the international community, missed this year’s TI6 and IG failed to qualify in their respective region.

The Fall Shuffle will end on the 18th of September, with the first phase – the drop phase- ending on the 4th of the same month. There are still teams that haven’t announced or locked their roster, teams such as Team Liquid and Wings Gaming while team such as OG, LGD and IG, have yet to announce a complete roster.

Only time will tell the fate of those who have left their teams or have been mysteriously dropped as well the fate of the teams that have yet to announce anything regarding their Fall roster.

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