There is no denying that every single week in the world of Dota 2 is unique. However, this one is definitely going down in history. After three long months, the much-awaited Outlanders update is with us. We expected changes but no one anticipated they would be quite this game-changing.
Let’s take back at the week in Dota 2 – the Outlanders update, the brand new Team Nigma organisation and Sylar’s move to EHOME.
The Outlanders update
The new Dota 2 update is finally here and oh boy, will it completely change the way we play the game. Apart from the usual hero changes, the Outlanders Update also features 60+ new Neutral Items. Their addition to the game has already proved controversial. It is true some are pretty cool and make the game more interesting, however, they also add a lot of randomnesses which is something that doesn’t bode well for the game as an esport, if not for a viewer, then certainly as a player.
There have been two minor patches since the Outlander update was released, mainly an attempt at balancing the Neutral Items. We’re still waiting for feedback from the game’s top players to get a proper idea if the game is in a good place, from a competitive POV, right now. One thing is certain though, Dota 2 is never going to be the same again.
Team Nigma is on the rise
Undoubtedly one of the major Dota 2 stories of the week was the return of Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi and his crew. After leaving Team Liquid after TI 9, they’ve announced that they are working on a new esports organization. A couple of months later, this is the results – team Nigma. According to Kuro, the name comes from the Arabic word for star. We can confidently say that the name fits the bill as all five founding members are Dota superstars.
The first challenge for Nigma is qualifying for the DPC. They’ve successfully managed to survive the Open Qualifiers and now have to make their way through the Closed Qualifiers. Even though it might seem like they won’t have any trouble reaching the Leipzig major, that’s not really the case. Many notable teams such as PSG, LGD and OG Seed failed to do so. After all, the new Outlander update could make life difficult for even the most experienced teams.
Sylar joins EHOME
EHOME have long been regarded as one of the best Dota 2 teams in China. Although they had a decent DPC season, the start of this one is not looking so good. The team got eliminated early on in the MDL Chengdu major and failed to impress with their performance. As a result, the Chinese powerhouse decided that it was time for some changes. That’s why Cheng “vtFaded” Jia Hao was removed, in favor of Cheng “NothingToSay” Jin Xiang.
EHOME had another big announcement to make though – the return of Liu “Sylar” Jiajung. Yes, the Chinese living legend will play once again as he will take the spot of Tang “897” Zhirui. With Sylar’s experience by their side, EHOME is definitely looking like a very solid team right now. Of course, we are yet to see if they will live up to the expectations.
OG Seed – a new team
OG was first-ever back to back TI champions in Dota 2. As a result, they decided that they won’t play in the first two majors in order to get a good rest and better understand what’s happening in the current meta. However, that doesn’t mean that OG will just sit back and do nothing.
Johan “N0tail” Sundstein announced that he and his team-mates will help the newly formed squad 4 Euros 1 Murica for the upcoming qualifiers. As a result, they’ve changed their names to OG Seed. Even though the team played pretty well, they had to go up against Nigma (ex. Team Liquid) in the Semifinals and as you’ve probably guessed, this didn’t go well for the new team.
We still have no idea what will happen to OG Seed once the qualifiers are over. It’s possible that they will stay under the same tag again but who knows, they might leave the organization as well.
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