Captain of Natus Vincere, Akbar “SoNNeikO Butaev” will miss the GG.Bet Birmingham Invitational and ESL One Mumbai 2019 due to health problems. He will be replaced by Michael Misha Agatov. The organization reported the changes on the official website.
SoNNeikO will return to the team after the tournament in India. Misha’s first match in the new lineup of Natus Vincere will be against The Pango at the Birmingham Invitational. The meeting will begin on April 9. Agatov’s last team was Team Jekich. Together with him, they couldn’t qualify for any other tournament of the DPC.
Due to certain issues, we'll play with Mikhail “Misha” Agatov as a stand-in instead of @SoNNeikO_o in the upcoming @ESLDota2 One Mumbai and @ggbetofficial Birmingham Invitational.
📰: https://t.co/KA3qzPPdSf#NAVINATION #Dota2 pic.twitter.com/KJAKdjUjTi
— NAVI (@natusvincere) April 7, 2019
No Zayac and Ceyler for Pango
Speaking of The Pango, Bakyt “Zayac” Emilzhanov and Alexander “Ceyler” Popov will no longer represent the team. This shocking announcement was made on Twitter. On April 9, The Pango will play with Natus Vincere in the group stage of the GG.Bet Birmingham Invitational. Yet it is unknown who will perform in place of the players who left the roster.
Representatives of the team recommended “to wait for further news,” but clarified that Zayac himself decided to leave the team.
Zayac and Ceyler have been playing in The Pango since the team was founded in October 2018. In recent months, for various reasons, they missed one tournament each: Zayac did not participate in The Chongqing Major, and Ceyler did not play on WePlay! Valentine Madness. Instead, they were replaced by Rinat “KingR: Abdullin and Zaur “Cooman” Shikhmurzaev.
Добрый день, друзья!
🔥Важные новости!
В нашей команде произошли изменения:
Состав покидают Бакыт "W_Zayac" Эмилжанов и Александр "Ceyler" Попов.
Мы благодарим их за время, проведённое в нашей команде, и желаем им дальнейших успехов.Ждите дальнейших новостей.#ForThePango pic.twitter.com/SztJe4sy8y
— The Pango (@the_pango) April 8, 2019
There are rumors that Bogdan “Iceberg” Vasilenko from FlyToMoon and Daniyal “XSvamp1Re” Alibaev from Se7eN eSports will temporarily represent them for the Birmingham Invitational. This surprising to hear since Pango was doing well in the competitive landscape. These roster changes will surely be quite difficult for the team as the face Na’Vi in less than 24 hours.
Slots Redistributed for EPICENTER
On April 8, tournament organizer, Epic Esports Events announced that Valve had revised the format of distribution of regional slots for the Moscow Major. Each region will receive at least two slots in the main tournament. While the last spot will go to the winner of StarLadder Ukraine Minor. Valve will distribute the remaining three spots at its own discretion before the start of qualifications. Previously, they were intended for Europe, the CIS, and China.
Europe, China and CIS will each have 2 slots on The EPICENTER Major due to an uncertainty in regional slot distribution and in communication with Valve on that matter. Remaining 3 slots will be distributed by Valve later.https://t.co/7UgVoG9o9I#epicgg #epicenter #dota2
— EPICENTER (@epicentergg) April 8, 2019
The reason for the redistribution of slots between the regions on EPICENTER Major 2019 could be the discontent of the western audience. One of the news platforms provided this information from a source close to Valve. According to the source, Valve agreed on additional slots for Europe, the CIS, and China. But later on, they changed its mind when faced with criticism on social networks from the USA and Europe.
EPICENTER Major for Dota 2 will take place from June 22 to June 30 in Moscow at the CSKA Arena site. The prize fund of the tournament will be one million dollars and 15 thousand Dota Pro Circuit rating points.
