Navi’s Malik to fill in for Quest Esports at Riyadh Masters 2023

Abdimalik “Malik” Saila, the starting offlaner for NaVi, will step in for Quest Esports at Riyadh Master 2023 after discussions between Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf and the team broke down.

As their new offlaner for the Riyadh Masters 2023, Abdimalik “Malik” Sailau has joined the rising Dota 2 squad Quest Esports on loan from Navi. Malik is likely loaned to Quest Esports for the Riyadh Masters and not as a permanent squad member since Natus Vincere still needs him for the Regional Qualifiers of The Internationals.

Join us in giving a warm welcome to Malik, who will be joining our team on loan from @natusvincere for the #RiyadhMasters. pic.twitter.com/0OmKHst9P9

— Quest Esports (@questesports_) July 16, 2023

 

Interestingly, Malik also competed in Riyadh Masters 2022 with a Middle Eastern organization Deboosters, who qualified for the event after winning the $250,000  Gamers Without Borders 2022: Saudi Arabia. Nevertheless, Malik was unable to accomplish anything with them at the Masters as they were eliminated during the group stage without recording a single victory.

How well will Malik do in Quest in the absence of ATF?

The news follows Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf’s abrupt exit, which surprised the Dota 2 community, especially in light of the squad’s outstanding performance at the Bali Major 2023 under his direction. Quest loaned ATF from Nigma Galaxy in May 2023 for the third tour of the Dota Pro Circuit 2023. Together with ATF, the team played at an impressive level throughout Tour 3, placing fourth in both the Regional League and the just-completed Bali Major.

Things took turns when Ammar declined to sign the pre-agreed contract and sought to renegotiate some of the terms after the Bali Major with Quest. In a statement to clarify the matter, Quest Esports said that ATF had placed some unacceptable conditions that forced them to part ways with him. The team also expressed regret for ATF’s departure, recognizing his contributions to the team’s progress and showing appreciation for his time spent with them.

Now, Malik’s move to Quest has sparked a debate among the fans, many of whom have voiced their opinions on how it would affect the team’s playstyle. Several fans feel that successful offlaner in the current meta are frequently greedy and give priority to their own farms.

Fans anticipate a change in Quest’s playstyle to mirror Malik’s since, unlike ATF, Malik is not particularly known to be a greedy offlaner. Instead, he takes a more conventional sacrificial posture, which works well in the Chinese region. With the competition starting in a few days, Quest Esports may find it difficult to synchronize and form a bond with the new player in a short amount of time.

 Quest Esports revamped Dota 2 roster for the Riyadh Masters:

• Aybek “TA2000” Tokayev
• Tony “No!ob” Assaf
• Abdimalik “Malik” Sailau
• Omar “OmaR” Moughrabi 
• Oleh “kaori” Medvedok

Header: Quest Esports