South American Dota 2 squad beastcoast has been released by the organization less than a fortnight after they crashed out of The International groups, but the org says they won’t be dropping Dota anytime soon.
The squad’s release became known after several posts from beastcoast members on their personal Facebook profiles, with Elvis “Scofield” Peña, David “Parker” Nicho Flores, Gonzalo “DarkMago” Herrera, Rafael “Sacred” Yonatan, and Steven “StingeR” Vargas announcing their free agency for the coming season.
While no official release was issued by beastcoast, the North American organization made a short statement on the matter on the evening of Oct. 30: “Our players are no exception as they’re actively seeking for the right mix of talent and synergy.”
The statement went on to mention the squad’s “pursuit of excellence” matches that of beastcoast’s commitment to South American Dota, hinting the org will remain entrenched in the region ahead of 2024’s revamped Dota Pro Circuit.
After their brilliant TI11 run to the top eight in Singapore last year, beastcoast was forced to adjust their roster following the departure of Jean Pierre “Chris Luck” Salazar and Adrián “Wisper” Dobles to Evil Geniuses. Nevertheless, beastcoast came out ahead early in 2023, taking back-to-back DPC SA wins.
However, they struggled to convert regional results into any international success in 2023. A season-best sixth placing at April’s DreamLeague Season 19 spelled the end of the beastcoast Dota 2 core, with stalwart carry Héctor “K1” Rodríguez stepping away at the time for health reasons. K1 went on to join nouns in the lead-up to TI 2023.
Beastcoast’s DPC performances were enough to secure the squad a direct invite to TI but—alongside the rest of South America—failed to make a mark during the group stage. Beastcoast managed just two wins, taking matches off nouns and Virtus Pro.
The Dota scene as a whole now enters a break after the stunning conclusion of TI 2023, leaving beastcoast with a month to spare ahead of ESL One Kuala Lumpur where it can begin to sort its new Dota 2 squad for the season. Following South America’s poor results at TI, roster changes are sure to be made region-wide.
