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Team Liquid releases Dota 2 roster after request to leave

Ethan Chen

Published: Sep 13, 2019 10:12 pm

This article is over 5 years old and may contain outdated information

North American esports organization Team Liquid announced that its entire Dota 2 roster would be parting ways. Unlike with most roster changes, the players themselves asked to leave the organization to start their own team. These players are Kuro “KuroKy” Takhasomi, Ivan Borislavov “MinD_ContRoL” Ivanov, Maroun “GH” Merhej, Amer “Miracle-” Al-Barkawi, and Aliwi “w33” Omar. Team Liquid’s Dota 2 team most recently placed 2nd at 2019’s The International. They also won 2017’s The International event, taking home nearly $11 million USD.

Team Liquid Dota 2

“After four years under the Team Liquid organization, our Dota team has decided to pursue this new dream: To build a team of their own,” said Team Liquid founder Victor “Nazgul” Goossens. “While it fills me with great sadness to part ways with the best Dota roster we ever could have dreamed of, I am proud of the unforgettable years we have spent together, which include innumerable championships, records, and memories.” However, Nazgul confirmed that Team Liquid would be signing a new Dota 2 roster soon. Still, a roster on the tier of Team Liquid will be hard to find in a short time.

Future plans

The Team Liquid Dota 2 roster changed several times until 2016 when three players stayed after two left. Miracle- along with GH were added, and the same roster stuck together until today’s announcement. The team didn’t achieve much until 2016, after which its successes grew.

In 2017, they placed 1st at events like Season 3 of StarLadder’s i-League StarSeries and 2017’s EPICENTER event. The Team Liquid roster was then crowned champions at 2017’s The International, bringing home $10.8 million. It also later placed 2nd in December of the same year at Season 8 of DreamLeague.

In the 2018 season, the team placed 1st at the China Dota 2 Super Major, where it defeated Virtus Pro. After a 4th place loss to Invictus Gaming at 2018’s The International, TL bounced back for a 2nd place finish at 2019’s The International. With the roster’s experience and high skill, the new team that these players form will likely go on to achieve many things.