Team Empire has announced that Artyom “Shockwave” Simakov has left their Rainbow Six Siege squad.
Shockwave leaves Team Empire's Rainbow 6 squad, replaced by dan. (Image courtesy of Team Empire)
In a press release, Team Empire’s esports director, Alexander “StrangeR” Solomonov, described the situations as “unexpected.” According to Solomonov, the team had misunderstandings internally. The issue was not overcome, and Shockwave has departed the team as a result.
Stepping is as Shockwave’s replacement is Danila ‘dan’ Dontsov. As of April 19, Dan will be competing with the team in the ESL Pro League Season 9.
Solomonov described dan as “a young talented player, who previously played for forZe. Despite the lack of experience, dan has great potential, which we will try to unlock as soon as possible.”
Of joining the team, dan said “I really hope that I can express myself, not let the team and fans down. Ready to bring victory and move forward.”
The roster change came as a surprise for the Rainbow 6 esport community. Team Empire is the first seed in Europe, having already qualified for the Season 9 Pro League Finals in Milan, Italy.
Shockwave has been apart of Team Empire from the start. He was part of the roster that went from an amateur pro team in 2017, qualifying for Pro League in December 2018 and competing in the Grand Final of the Six Invitational in February 2019 versus G2 Esports.
The implications of this sudden roster move may be huge for the rest of the EU Region.
EU’s second seed as not yet been decided. LeStream is the most likely candidate to qualify to Milan alongside Team Empire.
LeStream and Team Empire both play Friday evening at 18:00 GMT+1. If this roster change affects the outcome of the game, LeStream may almost certainly be heading to LAN.
