Dota 2 – Team Empire Unveils New Roster

While some other organizations are still working on rebuilding their rosters following The International 10 last month, Team Empire has wasted no time in confirming their lineup for the 2022 Dota Pro Circuit season. The new roster comes just a matter of months after their old lineup was made inactive, with the org having broken the news on Twitter.

The newlook Team Empire roster will feature Andrii “Ghostik” Kadyk as captain, with the Position 3 player having competed under the banner of Team Unique during the 2021 DPC. Kadyk made his name when representing Empire at The International 7, when the team finished in 7th – 8th position, still taking home more than $600,000 in the process.

Who Will Join Ghostik at Team Empire?

Ghostik will line up alongside Alexander “Lightless” Potapenko and Sergey “(T)SA” Timchenko, with the duo having a good amount of experience at the highest level to their names. In fact, Lightless will return to Team Empire’s Dota 2 roster, having been released by the org in October 2020. Vitaly “Mannik” Brezgin and Oleh “kaori” Medvedok complete the lineup, who may not be so familiar to Dota fans. However, they will have done at least something right to grab the attention of Team Empire in the first place.

Empire endured a pretty difficult 2021 season in the CIS regional league, after the team was relegated to the Dota 2 esports Lower Division in Season 1. They worked their way back to the Upper Division in Season 2, however Empire missed out on qualifying for The International 10 Grand Finals. A narrow defeat against Team Spirit ended their chances, a match in which they were 2-1 up in. Spirit would go on to win the event.

Can the New Empire Lineup Compete at the Highest Level?

The fact that Empire will take on the likes of Virtus.Pro, Natus Vincere and Team Spirit with two relatively unknown players will perhaps not inspire confidence among their supporters. However, there is no such thing as a “sure thing” in the Dota scene, with even the most skillfull players failing to settle in their new surroundings.

In fact, fellow new arrival Ghostik has done little of note since his appearance at The International 7. Meanwhile, Lightless and (T)SA have both been hovering around the Lower Division of late. The young looking roster will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Team Spirit, despite the odds being against them, even with the season having not even begun yet.