It’s that time of the year again. After an action-packed International 10 (Ti10), teams waste no time in reforming new rosters for the next Dota Pro Circuit 2022 season. After an underdog team like Team Spirit won Ti10, everyone is hopeful to see who are the new talents that might rock the Dota 2 scene.
Usually, TI is the great equalizer and serves as a wake up call for teams to change up rosters and players to seek greener pastures. Last year’s lack of a TI event made the roster shuffle less prominent with plenty of organizations opting out to largely remain the same. There was still a big shift in rosters over in China and SEA, but western teams remained largely inactive.
This year, we expect one of the biggest roster shuffle free agency periods in recent Dota 2 history.
Alliance lets Limmp and fng go
After the blunderful journey for the Swedish powerhouse at TI10, it comes as no surprise that they are scrapping a player or two. Alliance released Linus “Limmp” Blomdin, Gustav “s4” Magnusson and Artsiom “fng” Barshak from the roster.
These are crucial roles that Alliance are changing, so we can very much expect a reformed Alliance in the making. Firstly, Limmp is known to play durable mid heroes instead of the playmakers, such as Void Spirit. However, even on heroes as underwhelming as Dragon Knight, Limmp often doesn’t have what it takes to initiate fights and make any flashy play.
On the contrary, many top-tier teams, namely Invictus Gaming and Team Spirit run on having the most aggressive mid players. The other cause for concern is Alliance’s captain, which is formerly assumed by Gustav “s4” Magnusson. However, hard support players are often captains of their teams, perhaps an Alliance led by a new captain could add a twist to Alliance’s current playstyle.
The South American reformation
Over at the South American scene, SG esports dropped their entire roster. All things considered, they are just a regional qualifier winner, so the expectations were low.
Thunder Predator, which also placed last, released their line-up as well. This is a shame, considering the potential these guys showed during Singapore Major. Infinity Esports also released their Peruvian squad and no further whereabouts on whether Infinity intends on having a Dota 2 line-up for the upcoming DPC season.
Fortunately, it’s not all bad news for the SA scene as Thunder Predator brought NoPing Esports’ line-up instead. NoPing has shown that they have what it takes to become a strong candidate after their WePlay AniMajor debut, hence with better nurturing, we might see a stronger Thunder Predator.
Southeast Asia’s underrepresented state
Southeast Asia was rather underrepresented at TI10, with only T1 and Fnatic in attendance. Already Fnatic parted ways with Ng “ChYuan” Kee Chyuan and Yang “Deth” Wu Heng with no new players announcement just yet. T1 is likely following suit with player releases soon.
Additionally, Team SMG, although not a Ti10 contender, are releasing Australian veteran, Damien “kpii” Chok from his offlane position. Meanwhile, Filipino powerhouse, TNC Predator released their entire roster, alongside their eldest player since 2016, Timothy John “Tims” Randrup.
Then, there’s Kim “Febby” Yong-min, who is also looking for a new team to coach. He previously coached Team Undying, the North American team that dragged Evil Geniuses into Ti10 lower bracket. Hence, it’s going to be interesting to see which team Febby coaches, as he’s certainly a knowledgeable coach in his own rights.
It’s been quite the journey these past three to four years.
On September 15, 2021, TNC Predator will announce the free agency of its full roster. TNC and its players have discussed in terms of individual growth and agreed that this would be the best decision moving forward. pic.twitter.com/aH18lkwlgv
— TNC Predator 🇵🇭 (@TNCPredator) September 13, 2021
Evil Geniuses and Abed
Speaking of SEA players, Abed Azel L. Yusop’s time in Evil Geniuses might be coming to an end. This is reasonable, considering Abed fans believe Kanishka ‘Sam’ “BuLba” Sosale did not let Abed’s talent shine. Abed only played seven unique heroes throughout twenty games they played in Ti10. In contrast, Team Spirit’s Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk had fourteen different picks. Once again, reaffirms how beneficial having a vast hero pool can be for a mid player. Of course, Abed is anything but a one-trick pony, having stomped pubs with unconventional mid heroes, such as Hoodwink.
There is plenty of rumors that Abed may be seeking to leave the team, yet Andreas Franck “Cr1t-” Nielsen has openly shared that there’s no way they will let Abed go. Is the statement posturing to ramp up his value or are EG indeed seeking to re-think their playstyle remains to be seen.
Rumors of Upcoming Roster Changes
While we usually aren’t expecting any roster changes from the top finishers in Ti10, namely PSG.LGD, Invictus Gaming, and Team Spirit. Team Secret is still an oddball, as they typically have at least one player change after every TI.
Team OG’s offlaner and motivator, Sébastien “Ceb” Debs has also hinted at falling back to become OG’s side character of some sort. Opening up a slot for a potentially potent offlane player.
It’s still relatively early for teams and players to confirm their roster for the new Dota Pro Circuit 2022, expected to begin on November 29. Nevertheless, we should see waves of players shuffle rosters within the next few weeks/months.
Be the first to comment