Two of the world’s best teams in Dota 2 have finalized their rosters for Valve’s upcoming major tournament.
Both Vici Gaming and Complexity announced changes to their Dota 2 teams in preparation for the upcoming roster lock to be imposed by developer Valve. Vici Gaming will add Xu “Burning” Zhilei to the fold, while Complexity have acquired Michael “MJW” Nguyen and Peter “Wayto” Nguyen.
Valve now requires that Dota 2 rosters be locked for a set period of time for any teams hoping to compete in the developer’s official major tournaments. This requirement has led to a spate of roster changes prior to the September deadline.
For Vici Gaming, Xu will be taking over for the departing Chen “Hao” Zhihao as the team’s primary carry. Vici managed to follow their third-place finish at least year’s International tournament with a fourth-place finish this year.
The road wasn’t easy. Vici managed only one outright series victory during the group stage before going on a tear through the lower bracket, eliminating four-consecutive opposing teams from the year’s biggest Dota 2 tournament. Vici nearly made it five after taking the first game of the series versus LGD Gaming, but two losses later found themselves eliminated one spot short of their 2014 placement.
The team emphasized that no further moves will be made for the time being.
Complexity had a much better group stage at The International, but their play during the main event was lacking. Two straight losses in the playoff bracket left the American team just one game shy of making the top eight.
The squad was left with two positions to fill after parting ways last week with David “Moonmeander” Tan and Tal “Fly” Aizik. They are to be replaced by former Team Liquid player Wayto and former Ehug player MJW, respectively.
Kyle “Swindlemelonzz” Freedman admitted that the change was harmful to the squad’s established chemistry and teamwork, but spoke optimistically about the future of the new roster.
“We will be a better team than we were last year. The goal I outlined when we first joined Complexity has not changed. In time I’m certain we will succeed,” Freedman said.
