Serbian esports organization Aurora makes a surprising move by entering the Dota 2 scene through SEA and acquiring Talon Esports’ 2023 lineup. However, they make a slight change by replacing Mikoto, who is rumored to be taking a break, with Armel from Team Secret. Aurora unveils their 2024 roster alongside Talon, who wasted no time in finding a new lineup.
Aurora signs the entire Talon 2023 lineup, except for Mikoto, to join 23savage, Jabz, Q, and Oli, completing their roster. This unexpected move by an Eastern European organization picking up a SEA Dota 2 roster is only the second of its kind this year. BOOM Esports also made a puzzling move by signing former EG stars Pakazs and Matthew, despite operating in SEA since 2017.
Considering the strength of the regions and the available rosters, Aurora’s decision to acquire the Talon lineup makes sense. Throughout 2023, 23savage and his teammates were the best-performing SEA roster, making them the fourth highest-earning Dota 2 team in the past year.
Currently, the open qualifiers for ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023 are underway, and it is likely that the Aurora roster will receive an invite for the closed qualifiers.
Meanwhile, Talon Esports swiftly announces their new lineup, which some fans consider a significant downgrade. The new roster includes Akashi from Polaris, Ws from BOOM Esports, Jhocam from Army Geniuses, and ponyo from iG.Vitality. The organization is still searching for their fifth member and will play with a stand-in for ESL.
Although many fans expected the 2023 Talon roster to stick together, there were rumors suggesting that the players could explore international offers, as some of them have previously received such invitations. During TI 2023, N0tail claimed that 23savage could have joined OG instead of Ana for their TI8 victory.
Source: DOTESPORTS
