Dota 2 team Nigma Galaxy may be headed to Division II in Western Europe. However, they must prove if they still have what it takes as they compete in the ongoing DreamLeague Season 19. The thing is the team has benched Ammar "ATF" Al-Assaf and brought in Amer "Miracle-" Al-Barkawi.
You see, Nigma got a lucky break, which we'll dive into a bit later, and was able to join DreamLeague Season 19. Just as the tournament was about to start, the team announced via a tweet that they were putting ATF in an inactive status; no reason was given for the decision. A little later, Nigma announced on another tweet that Miracle- was "taking a break from his break" and would serve as a stand-in. Nigma had previously brought in ATF back in December 2022 when Miracle- decided to take a break due to health issues.
So, how is Nigma faring in the tournament with Miracle- in the team? Turns out not so good. In their match against beastcoast, the team was 0-2. It was the same story versus OG. Hopefully, Nigma finds the groove as the tournament continues.
A Lucky Break
Some of you are probably wondering how Nigma managed to join DreamLeague Season 19. That spot was supposed to be for PSG.LGD but the Chinese team couldn’t join citing visa issues. Fans need not worry since PSG.LGD revealed that they'll instead head to a European training camp to prepare for Berlin Major.
That still doesn't answer why Nigma was the one assigned the slot. The invites to this competition were based on the ESL Pro Tour Ranking System. In addition, ESL revealed that the replacement team for PSG.LGD was supposed to be from China as well. However, considering how late the withdrawal was made, the replacement team could still face visa issues.
As a result, what ESL did was to return to the original team selection process but limit it to those in Western Europe and Eastern Europe. Looking at both regions, Western Europe was the next eligible region. From there, Nigma Galaxy appeared as the next eligible team to get an invite. There was also the issue of Nigma getting a stand-in for the tournament yet ESL allowed them to retain this temporary roster.
What do you think? Was it a good decision for Nigma Galaxy to bring back Miracle-?
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