The Dota 2 roster shuffle season finally made its way to North America’s most anticipated organization, Shopify Rebellion, which announced its latest roster today.
SR bolstered its squad with Thiago “Thiolicor” Cordeiro from D2 Hustlers, Kartik “Kitrak” Rathi from OG, and Erin Jasper “Yopaj” Ferrer from BOOM Esports, while only keeping Artour “Arteezy” Babaev and Jonáš “SabeRLight-” Volek from its 2023 roster.
The new competitive season for Dota 2 started with the ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023 qualifiers and speculation has been roaring around the scene regarding SR’s roster ever since. As these rumors turned into reality, fans were left surprised, as this will be Arteezy’s first time playing with a roster filled with unproven players since 2014.
Ever since breaking into the Dota 2 scene with S A D B O Y S, a fledgling Dota 2 roster that was later signed by Evil Geniuses, Arteezy has been the franchise player in the NA scene, playing with high-profile names every year as he campaigned to make The International. However, playing with stacked rosters hasn’t done Arteezy any good in the trophy department. Despite being one of the most popular Dota 2 stars, the experienced carry has only come close to lifting the Aegis of Champions during his 10-year-long career.
While consecutive high-place finishes in tournaments allowed Arteezy to net over $2.5 million in tournament winnings, the lack of real Dota 2 achievements has been taking a toll on the star’s career, which could explain the reasoning behind starting fresh.
The difference between a player who has proven his skills and a player who’s looking to prove themselves to the world from scratch might be the difference maker in Arteezy’s career, leading him to trophies in 2024. That could be harder than expected, though, as Fly stayed in NA with Nouns’ Dota 2 squad, fueling hectic qualifiers for each major event.
