Dota 2’s The Worldwide 2023 is over, and Workforce Liquid kicked off the roster shuffle season within the Western European area, because the veteran offlaner Ludwig “zai” Wåhlberg confirmed his departure from the staff.
Zai initially hinted at the potential of taking a break throughout Liquid’s exit interview at TI 2023, and the participant formally verified his plans on Instagram right now.
“TI and the season are over” Zai captioned his submit. “Taking an indefinite break going ahead, so see ya.”
Within the feedback part, Zai was welcomed to the “retirement seashore” by legendary participant Jesse “JerAx” Vainikka. With Zai stepping down from his energetic duties at Liquid, the staff is on the hunt for a brand new participant for its offlane spot.
Whereas Liquid hasn’t introduced its new participant, the staff’s coach William “Blitz” Lee revealed that Liquid’s latest member was “kind of” determined.
The Dota 2 world has been attempting to determine who can change Zai and the rumor mills have been spinning towards Kim “Gabbi” Santos who has been in Europe since July, enjoying for Entity. In his quick stint within the area, Gabbi helped Entity qualify for TI 2023 and make it out of the teams.
Regardless of not successful a single title in 2023, Liquid was one of many top-earning groups, securing $3.2 million, second solely to Workforce Spirit. Gaimin Gladiators, who received three majors, two DreamLeague collection, and one other third-party event, adopted carefully behind. Liquid additionally managed a good top-six end at TI 2023, however this achievement wasn’t sufficient to speak Zai out of his retirement resolution.
Throughout Liquid’s TI 2023 run, Clement “Puppey” Ivanov, Zai’s former captain at Workforce Secret, revealed that Zai had deliberate this break since 2022 resulting from stress. Puppey talked about Zai’s tasks at Liquid had elevated after Lasse “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen’s departure, whereas others on the staff had “a lot much less accountability.”
