ppd Leaves SADBOYS After a Disappointing Result

This is a sad day for Dota 2 fans from North America. The legendary captain and former TI champion ppd has decided to leave SADBOYS after a disastrous first season in Dota Pro Circuit 2021 North America Upper Division.

The Team’s Results and Challenges

SADBOYS entered the race as the 3^rd best team in most people’s eyes. It was obvious that Evil Geniuses and Quincy Crew were untouchable. But with ppd as their captain and top Dota 2 veterans like Fear and Moo in the roster, SADBOYS were expected to finish 3^rd. Nobody knew at the time how strong Undying would turn out to be, and how weak was ppd’s stack.

Even the first match against Evil Geniuses did not make people lose faith in SADBOYS. The 1 – 2 result was quite encouraging and proved that ppd was capable of winning games against the region’s best competitors.

The 2^nd and 3^rd matches confirmed that belief as SADBOYS defeated A-Team and 5MM without losing a single game. But then reality finally hit everyone. Out of the next 4 matches, ppd’s team did not get a single win, not even one game. These 4 consecutive 0 – 2 defeats sent them to the loser’s tiebreaker, where they had to win matches just to avoid relegation. Fortunately for them, they succeeded in dodging the bullet, but ppd’s morale was lost in the process. Here’s what he wrote on Twitter:

“Officially out of the team. Not sure if I’ll be competing in season 2. Hopefully I can do some more casting. Appreciate the support.”

With ppd out of the team, I think it’s safe to assume that SADBOYS will not get a good result in season 2 and will almost certainly fail to qualify for The International 2021.

Why ppd Left

World-class players lose patience rather quickly, because they are used to winning big trophies and can evaluate a roster’s potential. If that roster is light-years behind its rivals, there’s no point in continuing the fight. That time can be spent in some more productive way. And I think that ppd reached the conclusion with regards to SADBOYS. To be fair, Fear is a bit too old for this. Or at least, he’s a bit too old to train like a 20 year-old professional who only dreams of one thing: winning and building a legacy.

Or who knows? Perhaps it’s not Fear’s fault, but dnm’s. Or maybe ppd himself felt like he let his teammates down. Whatever the reason, going from winning The International 5 to struggling to beat the likes of 4 Zoomers is a disgrace. And quitting was ppd’s version of seppuku.

Personally, I wish that he stayed until the end of the year. Given OG’s lessons, it’s clear that in Dota 2 anything can happen. And perseverance is definitely a good thing. But I guess he didn’t want to lose sleep over something that looks like an insurmountable task.

 

Photo credit: Valve