Is this the end of KuroKy’s Dota 2 career?

Despite having a formidable roster at his disposal and being himself one of the greatest players to have ever touched Dota 2, Kuro “KuroKy” Takasomi has failed to qualify for The International for the second time in a row. If we also calculate the year 2020, when there was no TI, Kuro hasn’t been at the event in three years.

It’s difficult to say what isn’t working at Nigma Galaxy. We know that Amer “Miracle-” Al-Barkawi has had some health problems lately. KuroKy was ill a few years ago as well, and we don’t know how much his arm injury still affects him. At almost 30 years old, his career seems over. But will he give up so soon?

Knowing the determination of this man and the passion he has for the game, it’s hard to believe that he will retire on such a low note. He probably wants to play at The International one more time before saying goodbye to his life-long obsession. But for that, he’ll need to figure out what’s wrong with his team.

What will change?

Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan might leave the team after this failure, but it’s hard to envision Nigma performing better next season unless a proper replacement is found. And there are very few options to choose from.

In the case of other teams, such as OG and Team Secret, we’ve already seen their ability to change their rosters drastically and still succeed. But Nigma have had the opposite experience. Each major change has resulted in failure. And that will likely deter them from making any big changes to their roster.

How Nigma lost the Western European Qualifier for The International 11

Nigma started the tournament in the upper bracket and lost the first match, even though they played against goonsquad, one of the underdogs in the race. It seems that Gustav “s4” Magnusson has not forgotten how to play Dota and his team just ruined Nigma’s run.

After this defeat, Nigma went on to win against two weak opponents, Brame and DGG Esports, but then they faced Team Secret in the lower bracket quarterfinals. All three games were tough and Nigma could have actually won quickly. But unfortunately for them, Secret made a huge comeback in game one.

Both games won by Secret were hard-fought. Each time, Nigma wanted to get a decisive advantage in the early game and then just snowball from there. Clement “Puppey” Ivanov had a different strategy. He picked cores that had great late-game potential and then just tried to survive until the 35-minute mark.

It remains to be seen who will win the qualifier. Entity are already in the Grand Final, while Liquid are waiting for their opponent in the lower bracket final. Based on what we’ve seen so far, Entity seem to be the favorites.

Header: Team Nigma