When you talk about the first Dota 2 Major of the year, you can expect all of the biggest names in the scene to be there. Well, this year is looking to be different from the norm. Michael “ninjaboogie” Ross Jr. is one of the latest players to take an extended break from competitive Dota 2.
As we have reported before, ninjaboogie parted ways with the Southeast Asian esports organization Mineski after their failed campaign at The International 2019. Several of his teammates were also seen looking for new teams.
The 2019-20 Dota Pro Circuit is expected to start on October 5. It will arrive with the combined qualifiers for the first Major and Minor taking place. In other words, players and teams need to do everything in their power since they only have two weeks to finalize roster changes, deals, and a whole lot more.
Ninjaboogie is just one of the handful of high profile Dota 2 pro players that have announced their decision to miss the first series of events of the upcoming season. Joining him is Lasse “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen, and OG’s entire roster.
After being able to compete in the last two The Internationals, Ninjaboogie ended his TI9 run finishing in ninth back-to-back. Considering his talents and the skills he displayed over the two tournaments, he is expected to be a high profile target for most teams in the SEA region. It is likely that he is taking this break to have a better look at his professional career and, more importantly, gain much-needed space to make the best decision.
Although nothing is confirmed, it could be that ninjaboogie wanted to skip the first few events of this year’s DPC in a decision to move to a different region. While he has spent most of his Dota 2 pro career in the SEA region, it is not impossible for North American and Europe teams to sign him up. For now, he wants to focus on “a few personal goals” while spending some quality time with his loved ones.