With The International 2022 (TI11) now done and dusted, it’s time for fans and players alike to look ahead to the post-TI Dota 2 roster shuffle. This is of course a yearly tradition in the professional Dota 2 scene, where pro players look for new opportunities to compete in different teams and chase after the Aegis of Champions anew.
Image Credit: Valve
Keeping track of all the relevant roster moves can be difficult, so we’re here to do just that for you. Welcome to our 2022 roster shuffle tracker!
Transfers During TI11
As always, players start looking for new places to call home as soon as they get eliminated from The International. This year was no different, with more than a handful of transfers taking place in the middle of TI11.
Soniqs Releases Entire Roster and Coach Clairvoyance
Following a horrendous performance in the Group Stage which saw them bounced out of TI11 early, North American squad Soniqs released everyone on their roster including coach Aaron “Clairvoyance” Kim.
Incidentally, LESLÃO’s removal from the team was not explicitly stated to have been caused by the team’s failure at The International. Rather, Soniqs released him after it came to light that he had written a racist message on his Effigy, an item which replaces one of the filler buildings wherever his side’s base may be.
As for the rest, this could be the end of the long-running saga of the team formerly known as Quincy Crew. They have yet to turn in performances to be proud of at The International, so we’ll have to see what each player decides to do from here.
T1 Lets Go of Kuku, Xepher, Whitemon, and March
Fan favorite Southeast Asian squad T1 had a rough go at things at the last chance qualifiers, where they couldn’t get out of sixth place despite having the services of two-time International champions Anathan “ana” Pham and Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen.
As a result of their failure to qualify, team captain Carlo “Kuku” Palad and support players Kenny “Xepher” Deo and Matthew “Whitemon” Filemon are now all out of the roster. Coach Park “March” Tae-won is also no longer with the organization. Interestingly, ana and Topson are both still official members of the team, so it’s possible that T1 will try to build around them for the upcoming Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) season.
Update (November 16, 2022): T1 has released the rest of its Dota 2 squad, including Topson and ana.
DarkMago and Sacred Leave Thunder Awaken to Join beastcoast
Unfortunately for the unexpected dark horses in Thunder Awaken, their breakout performance at TI11 was cut short in the lower bracket by eventual third placers Team Liquid. Several days later, mid laner Herrera “DarkMago” Gonzalo announced his departure from the team in order to join beastcoast.
Offlaner Rafael “Sacred” Yonatan followed him shortly thereafter, thus replacing Jean “Chris Luck” Salazar and Adrián “Wisper” Dobles, respectively. The two outgoing beastcoast members, meanwhile, have yet to find new squads.
Post-TI11 Roster Changes
MATUMBAMAN Retires from Competitive Dota 2
Former International champion Lasse “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen is hanging up the mouse and keyboard, following Team Liquid’s exit from TI11 at the hands of Team Secret.
Third place at the tournament is absolutely nothing for MATUMBAMAN to be ashamed of. He caps off a legendary career in style, and with the support of millions of fans all over the world. His team will likely be hard-pressed to find a replacement that has his unique brand of charisma and experience at the carry position, and whoever they do find will have big shoes to fill.
DuBu Exits TSM
TSM did not have a good run at TI11, bombing straight out of the tournament dead last in the group stage.
Kim “DuBu” Doo-young parted ways with the organization after the conclusion of the event, leaving TSM short of a hard support player going forward.
Talon Says Goodbye to kpii and Hyde
With their campaign at TI11 ending in disappointment, Talon Esports will have to go back to the drawing board for the next DPC season.
They begin their rebuild by releasing Damien “kpii” Chok Sau-jing and Brizio “Hyde” Budiana.
ATF Moves to the OG Bench
Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf is now on OG’s list of inactive players, joining both Johan “n0tail” Sundstein and Sebastien “Ceb” Debs in this regard.
Like ana and Topson before him, though, he will be free to explore other options for the upcoming DPC season.
Update (December 9, 2022): Dmitry “DM” Dorokhin, formerly of Virtus.pro, has since replaced ATF in the offlane position.
BetBoom Team is No More
After experiencing utter failure at TI11, BetBoom Team officially disbanded their entire squad on November 3rd.
All five former members have yet to find new teams as of the time of writing.
Jabz and SunBhie Depart Fnatic
As they were unable to make it very far at TI11, Fnatic have released offlaner Anucha “Jabz” Jirawong and coach Lee “SunBhie” Jeong-jae.
Jabz has since gone on to replace kpii at Talon Esports.
The Rest of Thunder Awaken Leave the Organization
Following the departures of both Sacred and DarkMago, the remaining players of Thunder Awaken have also chosen to part ways with the organization.
Crhistian “Pakazs” Casanova, Farith “Matthew” Huamancaja, and Jose “Pandaboo” Hernandez are no longer part of the team, leaving Thunder Awaken with a full roster to replace.
Oli Moves to Talon Esports
Invictus Gaming’s former hard support player Chan “Oli” Chon Kien is now a part of Talon Esports, after his previous team failed to make TI11 through the Chinese regional qualifiers.
Oli thus becomes the first Malaysian player to play for Talon Esports since the organization’s debut in 2021.
Raven Exits Fnatic
One of the best carry players from Southeast Asia and a longtime fixture of the Fnatic organization, Raven has announced his departure from the team.
Fnatic have since stated that he is free to explore his options going into the next DPC season. Given his skill and experience, we have no doubt that Raven will not find it difficult to look for another team that would appreciate his services.
The Evil Geniuses Call it Quits
This is the end of a long era. The entire Evil Geniuses roster has announced its disbandment, with all five players leaving the organization entirely. This also includes coach Kanishka “BuLba” Sosale, who had held the role for nearly five straight years before his departure from the squad.
Of course, this move is no surprise at all. EG bombed straight out of the TI11 playoffs after notching 14 wins in the group stage, which was definitely not in the cards given their performance in the preliminary rounds. Unfortunately for them, they just couldn’t put it together thereafter, losing to two South American teams in the form of Thunder Awaken and beastcoast.
Artour “Arteezy” Babaev and Andreas Franck “Cr1t-” Nielsen also exit the roster, with Arteezy in particular having been a mainstay in the Evil Geniuses brand since 2016. Cr1t-, meanwhile, joined the squad alongside Arteezy at the same time in 2016, and stayed for just as long. Star mid laner Azel “Abed” Yusop, consummate offlaner Egor “Nightfall” Grigorenko, and team captain Tal “Fly” Aizik are now free agents as well.
This news practically confirms the rumors surrounding EG as of late: that the organization was looking to sign South American players going forward. Former Thunder Awaken and beastcoast players Pakazs, Matthew, Pandaboo, Chris Luck, and Wisper are likely to be the next EG Dota 2 players, considering that they all just left their respective South American teams.
Update (November 24, 2022): The Evil Geniuses organization has since officially announced the signing of the aforementioned South American players.
TSM Overhaul Roster After Disappointing TI11 Campaign
TSM welcomes new members in its roster after bombing out of the TI11 group stage: Gainullin “kasane” Illyas (formerly of VP.Prodigy), Matthew “Ari” Walker (formerly of Into the Breach and Chicken Fighters), and T1’s ex-hard support player Matthew “Whitemon” Filemon
Enzo “Timado” Gianoli and Jonathan “Bryle” de Guia remain on the lineup as well, as the carry and mid laner, respectively. Meanwhile, former soft support player and two-time Major winner David “MoonMeander” Tan Boon Yang replaces Rasmus “MISERY” Filipsen as the squad’s coach.
Nisha Joins Team Liquid
After a highly successful stint with Team Secret, young hotshot Michał “Nisha” Jankowski joins forces with Team Liquid, putting himself in the solo mid position following MATUMBAMAN’s retirement. Michael “miCKe” Vu thus moves over to the carry position in order to make room for Nisha.
Team Liquid’s third place finish at TI11 was definitely something to be proud of considering how long the current roster has been around. Nisha’s expertise from the middle lane might just be the boost they need to bag the Aegis of Champions for the second time. Coach Jesse “JerAx” Vainikka, meanwhile, exits the team as he goes back into his own retirement.
Gabbi and kpii Make Fnatic Debut
Following the departures of both Raven and Jabz, Kim “Gabbi” Santos and Damien “kpii” Chok Sau-jing slot in as their replacements. Gabbi is a longtime veteran of the Southeast Asian scene, and it should be interesting to watch him play alongside his former teammate Armel Paul “Armel” Tabios again.
The experience of kpii as a former International finalist should also prove valuable for Fnatic, as they try to make amends for their early exit at TI11.
Geek Fam Returns to Pro Dota 2
After a few years of absence from the scene, Southeast Asian organization Geek Fam makes its return to professional Dota 2. Last seen in 2020, the reemergence of Geek Fam will make the already-competitive region even more cutthroat.
Their new roster includes Rolen Andrei Gabriel “skem” Ong, Joshua “Kokz” Mariano, Nikko “Force” Bilocura, Ravdan “NARMAN” Narmandakh, and Roger “Roddgeee” Tan Boon Thye. While this lineup is certainly unproven, there’s plenty of time for them to figure out their chemistry with the new DPC season on the horizon.
Ex-EG Reform As Shopify Rebellion
The former Evil Geniuses roster captained by Fly and coached by BuLba have reformed under the Shopify Rebellion organization, famous for their StarCraft II, Rocket League, and VALORANT squads. With Egor “Nightfall” Grigorenko choosing to sign with BetBoom Team, however, the new Shopify roster welcomes Jonáš “SabeRLight-” Vorlek to the fold as their replacement offlaner.
Given that they didn’t change much in the lineup, though, only time will tell whether this roster will flourish under their new organization, or if they will experience the same problems that have been holding them back from championship glory for years.
BetBoom Reloads With New Roster
BetBoom Team are willing to give it another go with Dota 2, as they have just announced an entirely new lineup for the upcoming DPC season. TI10 champion Alexander “TORONTOTOKYO” Khertek jumps out immediately from the list of the team’s new players, as he opts to leave Team Spirit in search of a fresh start elsewhere.
Interestingly, TORONTOTOKYO will be playing hard support, rather than the solo mid role that he became famous for at TI10. Needless to say, this is a huge shift in terms of in-game duties, so we will have to see with time whether or not his new role will work out for him and the team itself.
The rest of the squad includes some serious Eastern European talent. Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko, who most recently enjoyed a run at The International with Entity, will serve as the carry player. Controversial mid laner Danil “gpk” Skutin will play alongside him.
Meanwhile, fresh off his experience with Evil Geniuses, Nightfall returns to his home region to play offlane for BetBoom.
We will update this article as more news of transfers and signings comes in. Stay tuned for the latest on the 2022 Dota roster shuffle here at Hotspawn!
