Shopify Rebellion enters Dota 2 with former Evil Geniuses roster

The Canada-based organization Shopify Rebellion announced its entry into the North American Dota 2 competitive scene by signing the former Evil Geniuses team just hours before the deadline for roster lock.

Many fans believed the former Evil Geniuses roster will compete under the name “Alameda 2018” in the upcoming season. All the speculation has come finally come to an end as the hottest free agent Dota 2 roster finds a home with Shopify Rebellion, the Canada-based organization owned by e-commerce company Shopify. Along with the former EG members, the organization also signed Joná “SabeRLight-” Volek from TSM to replace Egor “Nightfall” Grigorenko, who returned to Europe to join BetBoom Team.

The ex-Evil Geniuses roster led by was dismissed by the organization during the roster shuffle season as it moved to South America to assemble a new, star-studded lineup with South American players. The Shopify Rebellion will compete in the first division of the regional competition next year since the ex-EG roster held control of the DPC slot claimed by its former organization in the NA region. Shopify Rebellion will debut in NA’s Division I during the 2023 DPC season with its newly formed Dota division. With Shopify Rebellion swooping in to sign the greatest North American team in years, there still seems to be hope for the North American Dota 2 scene, which has been battling to stay competitive for years.

Arteezy opens up about the move 

Dario “TLO” Wünsch, the program development lead for Shopify Rebellion and a former professional StarCraft II player, stated the squad was assembled at the last minute, just before the roster lock, during a Twitch live stream immediately after the company unveiled its new Dota 2 team. Artour “Arteezy” Babaev also talked openly about joining his new team, adding that the decision was natural because the team’s headquarters are in his native Canada.

He also made a hint that he would resume live streaming on Twitch in the future. According to Arteezy, the agreement with SabeRLight had been in the works for some time but hadn’t been finalized until the very last minute. Talking about the strength of the team, Arteezy said

“I’m gonna say we are even with TSM in terms of performance. They can beat us any day and vice versa. There are also some new challengers inbound so I guess that’s going to keep NA exciting.”

Shopify Rebellions Dota 2 roster for the upcoming DPC season 

• Artour “Arteezy” Babaev
• Abed “Abed” Yusop
• Jonáš “SabeRLight-” Volek
• Andreas “Cr1t-” Nielsen
• Tal “Fly” Aizik
• Kanishka ‘Sam’ “BuLba” Sosale (coach)

Header: Valve