Team Liquid’s Dota 2 team has struggled this season to find the magic that made them one of the most consistently dominant squads over the previous two years. Sitting in seventh place in the Dota 2 Pro Circuit (DPC) rankings, the team (and each of its players) has to be thinking about how to position themselves to win The International 2019. With only ten days left before the final Dota 2 Major of the year, the EPICENTER Moscow Major, Team Liquid has shifted Lasse “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen off of their starting roster.
MATUMBAMAN departs Team Liquid with only weeks left in the Dota 2 Pro Circuit season. (Image via Team Liquid)
The 2018-2019 DPC season has been rough for Team Liquid. They took time off at the very beginning of the season, missing the first set of DPC events. Most recently, Team Liquid placed second at the MDL Disneyland® Paris Major, their best performance all season. They finished in 13-16th place at the Stockholm Major and seventh-eighth at the Chongqing Major. They have secured enough Dota 2 Pro Circuit points, even with the 20% penalty for MATU’s departure, to attend The International 2019 in Shanghai, China later this year.
In the Team Liquid announcement, the organization thanks MATU for his years with Team Liquid. He joined the organization back in 2015, when Team Liquid picked up the 5Jungz roster. MATU was a part of the Team Liquid squad that won EPICENTER 2016, EPICENTER 2017, The International 2017 and the China Dota 2 Supermajor in 2018.
