The International 2023 proved to be a devastating blow for North American Dota 2 teams, including nouns who managed to secure a top eight finish. However, despite their impressive performance, nouns shocked fans by announcing the departure of their entire Dota 2 roster on November 5th.
Many were taken aback by this decision, especially considering the team’s strong showing at TI, which led to speculation that they would continue together. Prior to the official announcement, Moo had hinted at his search for a new team, fueling rumors of a potential single roster change for nouns.
Thank you to @k1hectorxd @Gunnardota @MooDota2 @lelisdota @yamsun_dota & @filipeastini for an excellent 2023 season! Enjoying roster-mania so far? ???? It’s an exciting time to be a Dota fan, keep an eye out for our 2024 plans, coming soon! ⌐◨-◨ pic.twitter.com/KnpYSEt6T6 — Nouns Esports ⌐◨-◨ (@nounsesports) November 5, 2023
The subsequent announcement from nouns confirmed that the organization had indeed parted ways with their entire roster. Combining the two tweets, it appears that Héctor “K1” Rodríguez, Nicolas “Gunnar” Lopez, Rodrigo “Lelis” Santos, Luke “Yamsun” Wang, and David “Moo” Hull have chosen not to continue playing together as a team.
With the absence of the Dota Pro Circuit and the uncertainty of what lies ahead, Dota 2 teams and organizations worldwide are currently preparing for an unknown future. Despite their successful season, the uncertainty may have influenced the nouns players’ decision-making process.
Notably, both the North American and South American teams, excluding nouns, had a disappointing performance at TI 2023, leading to further disbands as Beastcoast also made changes to their roster. As organizations take a step back and rosters evaluate their options, the possibility of super teams emerging from these regions becomes more likely.
In order to compete against the dominant European teams, the best-performing players from North America and South America will likely seek to stick together, unless they decide to switch regions. Although the DPC may no longer exist, the first major tournament of the year is scheduled to take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with a $1 million prize pool in December. This means that players will be racing to find stable teams ahead of the qualifiers.
Source: DOTESPORTS
