Who might replace MATUMBAMAN at Team Liquid?

The new Dota 2 season is just a few months away, and as always, the world’s best teams are doing their best to guarantee themselves a good chance of winning Majors and, why not, the next edition of The International.

At TI11, Team Liquid finished third and looked really strong. But as soon as the tournament ended, Lasse “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen retired. This is a huge problem for the team because he was regarded as one of the best carry players in the game.

His knowledge of every possible scenario is extremely hard to match and many believe that without him, Liquid will not be able to maintain their level of performance next season.

Potential replacements

Right now, there are several carry players who have the potential to replace MATUMBAMAN. Not all of them are as strong as he was, but they’re all good enough to give Liquid something to work with.

The first name that comes to mind is Nikolay “Nikobaby” Nikolov, who left Alliance a few months ago and is probably looking for a good team. His achievements are not spectacular, but to be fair, he has never had a formidable roster.

Nikobaby is famous for his Dota 2 tutorials, which clearly showcase his deep knowledge of the game and his passion for it. The man even has a tattoo of Medusa on his neck. It’s hard to ask for more than that.

The second player that would be a good signing for Liquid is Artour “Arteezy” Babaev. Right now, he’s the carry player of Evil Geniuses. But as we all know, EG is rumored to announce its plans for the future in the coming weeks. And according to reports, the organization will release its entire Dota 2 roster and leave North America.

This will create an excellent opportunity for orgs like Team Liquid. Players of Arteezy’s caliber are very hard to find. And at 26, Artour is still very young and probably quite motivate to make a name for himself. He still hasn’t won The International and he probably doesn’t want to retire before he gets his hands on the Aegis of Champions.

It wouldn’t be the first time that Arteezy moves from North America to Western Europe. He’s done it before, back when he was invited to play for Team Secret in 2015-2016.

Any of these two players would be a good fit for Liquid, assuming that the players can adjust their style a little bit and learn how to cooperate with the team’s current roster.

Header: Team Liquid