Esports giant Evil Geniuses decided to disband its entire DOTA 2 roster following a dismal performance in The International 11 in Singapore last month.
In an announcement, EG chief executive officer Nicole LaPointe bid goodbye to Filipino mid laner Abed “Abed” Yusop, Artour “Arteezy” Babaey, Egor “Nightfall” Grigorenko, Andrews “Cr1t-“ Nielsen, and team captain Tal “Fly” Azik and coach Kanishka “BuLba” Sosale.
LaPointe said letting go of the entire team is bittersweet following their sorry top 9 to 12 finish in the prestigious TI 11 event.
“I wanted to make sure we had time to talk through a pretty momentous change for Evil Geniuses and it comes with bittersweet emotions,” LaPointe said.
“For the past seven years our North American DOTA team has been an anchor of not just DOTA, but to the broader Evil Geniuses organization. And so, with a heavy heart, I want to say thank you and see you later.”
LaPointe said their decision to drop its players and coach was because of their plan to join the South American region in the 2023 DOTA 2 Pro Circuit.
Meanwhile, South Korean Esports organization T1 also opted to drop its entire DOTA 2 roster. Spearheaded by Filipino DOTA star Carlo “Kuku” Palad, T1 has decided to let go of two-time TI winners Anathan “ana” Pham and Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen.
Indonesia’s Kenny “Xepher” Deo and Matthew “Whitemon” Filemon have also been released from the roster.
“We decided to disband our DOTA 2 roster. We thank Topson, ana, Kuku, Xepher, and Whitemon for their time with us,” T1 announced.
“We wish them the best of luck for the future. Thank you T1 nation for supporting us since the beginning.”
It can be remembered that T1 had all the makings of becoming a Southeast Asian DOTA 2 powerhouse when it won the ESL One Summer 2021 and for exceeding expectations with its gritty top 7 to 8 finish in TI 10.
The organization, however, failed to secure a spot in this year’s TI, which is touted as the grandest stage in Esports after a series of roster changes.
