Similar to every other year, the first week of the post-TI shuffle is always full of roster changes, new teams and more. That said, we are yet to see a major change in some of the top teams. But hey, it’s only been one week, so we still have plenty of time for that. What’s more, if the Reddit information turns out to be true, we may be in for some very interesting surprises.
Let’s take a look at some of the more notable changes this week:
Monday
The first big news just after TI 9 ended was the collapse of Mineski. No one really expected this to happen, especially after their amazing performance in the tournament. However, it seems like they might have been some internal issues that led to this situation. Of course, this is pure speculation and we don’t yet have all the answers.
What we do know is that Nikolay “Nikobaby” Nikolov and Michael “ninjaboogie“ Ross Jr announced that they are looking for a new team.
CoL released their Dota 2 team
Complexity gaming was once one of the most prominent NA teams. They were even getting to close to rival Evil Geniuses which are the hegemon in this region. However, it all went downhill after Kyle “melonzz” Freedman decided to take a break and become a caster.
It seems that his team-mates could not recover from the loss, which eventually lead to Col’s slow death. Undoubtedly the last nail in the coffin was their poor performance at TI 9’s qualifiers. That’s why just one day after TI, the organization announced that they will be dropping their Dota 2 roster.
Tuesday
When you think of a stable Dota 2 team, Vici Gaming is surely one of the first names that spring to mind. They had a fantastic tournament – even though they were unable to finish in the top four spots. Pan “Fade” Yi, the Chinese superstar and one of their MVP’s, got involved in a big controversy. Supposedly, Royal Never Give Up, another top Chinese team, tried to “snatch” the player off Vici Gaming during TI 9 itself.
However, it turned out that this was not true at all. Nonetheless, the damage was already done and Fade decided it was high time for him to step down from the professional Dota 2 scene.
Wednesday
Dubu Leaves Fnatic
Fnatic was assuredly one of the biggest upsets at this years’ TI. In fact, many people thought of them as the best SEA team prior to the tournament. Unfortunately, they did fail to live up to their high expectations and after a mediocre group stage performance were defeated in R1 of the Lower Bracket.
As expected, changes had to be made and the first one came just three days after the Grand Final. As a result, Kim “DuBu” Doo-young is now looking for a new team.
KheZu leaves Chaos EC
If there was one team that clearly needed changes, it had to be Chaos Esports Club. Even though they hold amazing players, their TI 9 performance was nothing short but disastrous. That’s why Maurice “KheZu” Gutmann decided it’s time to look for a new challenge.
Just a couple of days later, Lasse Aukusti “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen also informed his audience that he will be taking some time off from professional Dota. This means that Chaos Esports Club now has three players remaining. We are still yet to see what they’ll decide to do with their roster going forward.
Kuku leaves TNC
The last notable change from this week is about Carlo “Kuku” Palad, the player whose actions nearly started a racist conflict a couple of months ago.
This has to be the most questionable decision yet. TNC played very well during TI 9 and it was just natural to continue to grow as a team. However, it seems like the players have something else in mind. Kuku is one of the best SEA players right now so it’s just a matter of time before he ends up in a new team.
Be sure to follow Dart Frog on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitch for all the latest Dota 2 news and analysis.
