Dota 2 Post-TI Roster Shuffle Is Starting To Become Interesting

The International 2019 is the biggest Dota 2 event of the year. After 10 days of intense battles, it was OG that came out on top and raised the Aegis. For some games, there is usually a lull once a season wraps up. However for Dota 2, after Major tournaments there is always the chance for a roster shuffle. This year, the post-TI roster shuffle is starting to be a rather fun event. Today we look at some of the changes that happened since the end of TI9.

Southeast Asia

Just as the TI9 tournament came to a close, it was announced the three members of Mineski had left the team. These were Ryan "Bimbo" Jay, Michael "ninjaboogie" Ross Jr., and Nikolay "Nikobaby" Nikolov. It was almost simultaneous with Nikobaby tweeting LFT first followed by ninjaboogiee and Bimbo. This is not that surprising, given that the team had been having roster issues even before TI9. Both Bimbo and ninjaboogie joined Mineski back in March with Nikobaby completing the team in late June. That leaves Mineski with Kam Boon "Moon" Seng and Damien "kpii" Chok.

One of the biggest updates, particularly for SEA Dota, is the news that Carlo "Kuku" Palad left TNC Predator. Like the Mineski team members, Kuku sent out a "LFT" tweet. You can read more about that here. Kuku has not explained why he decided to leave the team. Making the situation even more confusing is that as of this writing, there is still no official word from TNC on this matter. Die-hard TNC fans are claiming it stands for "Looking for Tims" instead of "Looking for Team." However, in a recent exhibition match, Kuku's absence in the team was rather obvious.

Fnatic also experienced a roster change. Team Captain Kim "DuBu" Doo-young left the team and said that he was willing to play in any region. He then went on to jokingly add that "free kpop dance class" would be part of the deal.

The Americas

It's not just about players as some organizations let go of their entire roster. One of the early "victims" was Complexity Gaming who released their entire lineup. Player.One reported on this, and you can read more here. Even Muriëlle "Kips" Huisman left as Coach.

What is interesting however is Infamous. Considering their performance during the recently concluded TI, it was certain that the team would continue to play. That appears to be the case with one slight difference. The team decided to continue playing together, but left the Infamous organization behind. As of the moment, the team is looking for organizations in the South America region that will sign them up.

China

Roster changes have also come to Chinese Dota 2 teams with a few surprises as well. The first relates to Song "Sccc" Chun. Despite being a member of Newbee since 2016, Sccc made the decision to leave the team and has signed on with Team Aster.

Vici Gaming had to deal with the decision of Pan "Fade" Yi, who is retiring. This was a surprise considering that Fade served as Team Captain to a team that was considered one of the favorites of TI9. There was the expectation that VG would be one of those teams that would retain its roster post-TI. However, the team suddenly called out Royal Never Give Up for contacting Fade just after TI9. Instead of responding to the issue, Fade announced he was retiring, saying that he was already tired of being at the center of the storm.

Another Chinese team that got hit with the post-TI shuffle was PSG.LGD. Yao "QQQ" Yi decided to leave as Coach. Meanwhile Team Captain Xu "fy" Linsen announced that he was taking a break citing his health condition. He has since been placed on the inactive list.

Europe

Finally we go to the Europe region and for teams that were part of TI, it was Chaos Esports Club that announced changes in its roster. First Maurice "KheZu" Gutmann announced he was leaving and was still checking options. Lasse "MATUMBAMAN" Urpalainen has been put on inactive status saying that he is taking a break until the second Major.

Notable Events

There are other roster news that caught the attention of the Dota 2 community. One interesting update is T1, formerly SK Telecom T1, deciding to officially join Dota 2. For those familiar, T1 is known for their StarCraft division and championships in League of Legends. So far, the organization has only signed up Lee "Forev" Sang-don.

Another piece of news is Jacky “EternaLEnVy” Mao teaming up with Jingjun “Sneyking” Wu, Kurtis “Aui_2000” Ling, David "MoonMeander" Tan, and Jonathan Bryle "bryle" Santos De Guia. As of now, they are looking for sponsors.

There's no question that a lot has happened over the past week. Let's see what happens in the coming days and what moves different teams are going to make.