May was a critical month for Dota 2 because we had the chance to see Tour 2 of the 2021-2022 DPC. What’s even more impressive is that we also watched the first Major of the year. So let’s take a look at some of the most important roster changes so far in May 2022 in the Dota 2 world.
ESL One Stockholm 2022 was an epic battleground where the best teams fought against each other. Although some people expected Team Spirit to dominate in this event, this was not the case. OG’s young, ambitious and talented roster ripped through everyone and deserved their first big trophy.
OG’s victory was impressive, but many other teams were disappointed with their performance. As a result, they’ve decided to make significant roster changes and prepare themselves for the upcoming Tour 3.
Some changes were expected because certain players were not performing as well as people expected. However, others are fascinating and definitely caught many people by surprise. So, let’s take a good look at some of them.
JerAx’s departure from EG and Fly’s arrival
Today we say t̷h̷a̷n̷k̷ ̷y̷o̷u̷ ̷a̷n̷d̷ ̷f̷a̷r̷e̷w̷e̷l̷l̷ welcome back to Tal “@talflyaizik” Aizik! pic.twitter.com/OIlXt2gdfv
— Evil Geniuses (@EvilGeniuses) May 29, 2022
The first big roster change recently involved Evil Geniuses, one of the teams that disappointed its fans in the Major. Despite being one of the favorites, EG lost its matches in the Group Stage. As a result, it became the first team that is eliminated from the event.
Since EG wants to do everything to catch up to its WEU and EEU counterparts, the team had to make some changes. Although most fans expected Kanishka ‘Sam’ “BuLba” Sosale to leave the team, EG decided to remove Jesse “JerAx” Vainikka.
People were eager to learn the name of EG’s latest addition. In fact, a leaked Twitch chat showed that Peter “ppd” Dager, EG’s ex-team-member who was a part of the TI-5 winning squad, would join the team once again. However, it seems like this information was false because EG welcomed Tal “Fly” Aizik.
In case you don’t remember, Fly was a part of EG for more than three years before he became a part of Talon Esports. Sadly, his stay there was short-lived because the team was unable to live up to the expectations.
Fly was EG’s captain for many years, so he definitely knows what the team needs to be successful. He will have the chance to re-join his former colleague in the support role Andreas Franck “Cr1t-” Nielsen. The two players were side by side for a couple of years, including at OG.
We are yet to see whether Fly’s arrival will be enough for EG to rise from the ashes. The team has a lot of work because tour 3 of the DPC is just around the corner.
SumaiL is now a part of Nigma Galaxy
EG was unable to shine at ESL One Stockholm 2022, but some teams couldn’t even qualify for the event. One of them is TI 7 winners Nigma Galaxy. Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi and his team’s dreadful performance during Tour 2 prevented them from securing a Major slot. What’s more, the team finished last in Division I, which means it will have to play in Division II.
Unsurprisingly, none from Nigma Galaxy was happy with the result. Consequently, the team made the decision to remove Igor “iLTW” Filatov from the roster. The Russian superstar played the carry role, whereas Amer “Miracle-” Al-Barkawi was in the mid lane. However, now that iLTW is no longer a part of the team, Miracle- will have the chance to take the pos1 role.
This leads to Nigma Galaxy’s latest addition to their team – Syed Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan. The legendary mid laner who won TI with EG played for some of the best teams in the world, including OG and Team Secret. In fact, he was a part of TS for Tour 2, but the team did not achieve the expected results.
After leaving the European powerhouse, SumaiL decided to join Nigma Galaxy, where he has to play as a mid laner. This is his most comfortable position, so it will be fascinating to see him in action.
Unfortunately, we won’t be able to see NGX go up against Secret and OG this time because they are in Division II. Hopefully, SumaiL and co. will bounce back and participate in the third Major of the DPC. The team has everything it needs, so the only thing left for them to do is win and show the world that they are among the best.
RAMZES666 joins Virtus.Pro
⚡️⚡️⚡️ Straight as an arrow and devilishly handsome @ramzes is back to our bear den.
Read more 👉 https://t.co/HEmCdr9IL3 pic.twitter.com/Gfqgddbxt1
— Virtus.pro (@virtuspro) May 28, 2022
Since Fly became a part of EG yet again, we are not surprised that a couple of other players have also decided to join their former team. One of them is Roman “RAMZES666” Kushnarev, one of the legendary CIS players. He was a part of Virtus.Pro for many years, but after the team’s inability to win TI, he moved to EG.
Although the team had a lot of potential, RAMZES666 had all sorts of problems that did not let him compete in the NA scene. He and some of his former teammates created a new team called CIS Rejects, and they achieved good results. However, the team was not powerful enough to bring down the best in the region, so Roman left.
Unsurprisingly, the Russian superstar decided to join his former team Vitus.Pro. Even though he started his professional career in Team Empire, RAMZES666 became one of the most substantial carries in the world in VP. He played for the team from 2016 until 2019 and won almost everything except TI.
Despite the fact that Roman can play different roles, he will take position 1. Virtus.Pro removed Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko from the roster, allowing RAMZES to play in his favorite option.
It will be fascinating to watch whether Roman and his team will be able to compete against the best in CIS. Although Team Spirit did not win the Major, they continue to be among the best in the world. They are definitely the best in Eastern Europe, so it is up to VP to challenge them and earn the crown. After all, VP used to be the only team from this region capable of winning against the best in the world.