Nikko will get badmouthed by OG’s coach, Taiga banned for all times: Dota 2 ends April with a BetBoom

The final week of Dota 2 had all of it: there was no scarcity of drama, healthful tales, and really attention-grabbing bulletins.

As we head into Might, let’s have a look again at how the Dota 2 esports scene wrapped up the month. And I’ll be sincere, it’s given me quite a lot of hope for what’s to return.

Weeks in the past, the OG Dota 2 group made a surprising announcement, benching offlaner Nikko “Nikko” Bilocura and unveiling Alexander “TORONTOTOKYO” Khertek – a really shocking addition to the lineup.

The group’s coach, 343, lately went on a podcast to spill the beans, and let’s simply say he didn’t maintain something again. 

The Malaysian coach was invited onto a podcast on the DotaDoc channel, the place he revealed what actually occurred behind the scenes and why the group finally determined to let Nikko go. In keeping with him, the previous offlaner was benched on account of out-of-game components. Right here’s a abstract of 343’s details:

As somebody who has adopted Nikko’s journey for fairly some time, I can say that he’s very individually expert and might be essentially the most mechanically gifted participant on the group. 

But when 343’s claims are true, this habits will do a group extra hurt than good. A part of being knowledgeable Dota participant is having each talent and work ethic; the latter, together with belief, is what retains a group collectively.

I imply, 343 has each cause to be livid – I can’t argue with that – however grilling him with no filter on a public podcast is most positively going to harm the Filipino’s popularity and profession in the long term.

I hope he can bounce again, as he’s a very gifted participant. 

I do know what group I’ll be cheering on for the remainder of the season.

The South American Rejects, an unsponsored squad, lately made a deep run at PGL Wallachia Season 8, ending within the high six. With no kind or organizational backing, these guys needed to dig into their very own wallets to fly to Europe, cowl fundamental requirements, and compete on the occasion. 

It’s secure to say this ragtag group of Peruvian gamers exceeded expectations. They took down high groups like Group Yandex and Xtreme Gaming of their Wallachia conquest. Sadly, Group Liquid needed to damage the enjoyable, knocking them out of the event.

However hey, they have been compensated $60,000 for his or her efforts.

As a substitute of basking in that bag, the South American Rejects are investing all of it – not in shares or crypto – however in themselves. They’re utilizing the winnings to remain longer in Europe and bootcamp, the place they’ll scrim in opposition to one of the best groups on the earth and sharpen their gameplay.

That is such a cool story and reveals simply how a lot they imagine in themselves. At Wallachia, they confirmed nice promise. The Rejects would discover themselves within the lead in video games in opposition to high squads like Group Liquid, however typically struggled to shut out video games.

The potential is clearly there, and with a little bit little bit of sharpening, I really feel like these guys are good for an additional deep run. They’ve actually earned my respect, and I hope an org picks them up actual quickly. 

Talking of PGL Wallachia, BetBoom Group ended up successful the entire occasion, and in very convincing trend. They clearly seemed like one of the best group on the occasion. 

The squad went 3-0 in teams and didn’t drop a single recreation within the playoffs, making a flawless run to the grand ultimate. They then swept Japanese European rivals Aurora within the grand ultimate, settling the rating on the excellent time. BetBoom Group’s large win means they take dwelling $300,000 and their first event win of the yr.

The Wallachia trophy additionally marks the most recent addition, Ilya “Kiritych” Ulyanov’s first S Tier victory. The 23-year-old had some very large footwear to fill after changing Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko following The Worldwide 14. However, he’s been taking part in very steady Dota and doing his job properly.

Nonetheless, credit score should go to Danil “gpk” Skutin and Vitalie “Save-” Melnic. These guys are clearly BetBoom Group’s finest gamers, with the previous voted because the occasion’s MVP. 

In 2024, former OG and Group Liquid help participant Tommy “Taiga” Le was uncovered for match-fixing. That’s proper – regardless of being a Main winner and being employed underneath among the largest orgs within the scene, this fella was betting on his personal matches, even in S Tier tournaments.

He wasn’t essentially throwing video games, however was taking part in round with outcomes like First Bloods – issues he would affect with out blatantly making his group lose. 

Since then, his Dota 2 profession has been just about over. Taiga went from being a extremely revered, healthful participant to probably the most disliked figures within the scene. Not solely positive what he’s as much as lately, however I noticed him opening a betting group on Telegram, inviting his followers to affix – who is aware of what’s occurring in there. 

In any case, the Esports Integrity Fee (ESIC) has lastly slammed the ban hammer on Taiga. He was handed a lifetime ban from all ESIC member occasions.

Took you lengthy sufficient, ESIC. 

Following TORONTOTOKYO’s seemingly random signing to OG, we’ve another person treading in his footsteps. TI winner and European participant Ivan “MinD_ContRoL” Ivanov has additionally marked Southeast Asia as his subsequent vacation spot. The previous Group Liquid participant has joined Indonesian squad REKONIX, this time because the group’s coach.

MinD_ContRoL has made ventures to SEA earlier than, discovering a quick stint in Group SMG for The Worldwide 2023, which didn’t go too properly. Nonetheless, he’s suiting up for a very completely different position, transitioning from taking part in to teaching for the primary time.

He finds himself in a squad filled with Indonesian gamers. REKONIX is a group on the rise – they’ve snagged a number of Southeast Asian qualifier slots to make appearances on the largest occasions.

Nonetheless, REKONIX sometimes struggles in opposition to the highest canine and infrequently finally ends up as cannon fodder. 

MinD_ContRoL appears to be like to make a distinction and revive Indonesian Dota 2, as we’ll see his squad compete at DreamLeague Season 29 for his or her first Tier 1 event. And truthfully, if REKONIX makes it to the playoffs, he clearly is aware of one thing we don’t.