Legendary player and former International champion Syed “SumaiL” Hassan will be making his return to competitive Dota 2, after several months of inactivity. There’s a catch, however: he will be playing as an official stand-in for Team Liquid, while Samuel “Boxi” Svahn takes a leave of absence.
This will be the first time SumaiL plays as a member of Team Liquid, though not the first time he will play in Europe. (Photo courtesy Valve)
The Dutch organization announced the substitution early Friday via their official Twitter account. According to Liquid, Boxi will be going on said hiatus in order to be with his family. The organization did not go into detail about Boxi’s exact situation, nor did they put an exact end date to his absence.
This marks the first time that SumaiL will be playing under the Team Liquid banner, though he has played within the European region before. Prior to taking an extended break from the Dota Pro Circuit, he was a member of mixed EU stack Just Error, though his time with them did not bear much fruit. Before that, he was the carry player for back-to-back TI champion squad OG.
SumaiL left OG’s Dota 2 squad in July of 2020, making way for longtime member Sébastien “Ceb” Debs to return to the active roster. SumaiL himself has been mostly out of the limelight since then and since departing Just Error. He will presumably play the offlane role for Liquid, given that Boxi’s absence leaves that spot open. SumaiL does indeed have experience playing offlane at a competitive level, having taken up the position in the past with North American team Quincy Crew.
Team Liquid notably placed first at ESL One Germany Online late last year, proving that they do have what it takes to hang with the best in Europe. While this can certainly be seen as a setback for the team, especially when it comes to chemistry, SumaiL is a proven player through and through. It should be interesting to see how they adjust to his playstyle as an offlaner as the DPC season continues.
