CIS Dota 2 stars Vladimir “No[o]ne” Minenko and Akbar “SoNNeikO” Butaev have departed AS Monaco Gambit after qualifying to the WePlay AniMajor.

The news broke when AS Monaco Gambit announced that the two players will be replaced by Stanislav “633” Glushan and Artem “Lorenof” Melnik days before the event.

No[o]ne and SoNNeikO wanted to leave AS Monaco Gambit early into DPC Season 2

AS Monaco Gambit at ONE Esports Singapore Major
Credit: ONE Esports

AS Monaco Gambit explained that SoNNeikO expressed his intentions of leaving the squad after an unsuccessful start to the DPC Season 2 in the Easter European region, but managed to convince its players to switch roles and finish the season together.

“In spite of that, SoNNeikO and No[o]ne refused to go to Kyiv and expressed their desire to leave Gambit. Given the situation, we see no reason to hold players whose contracts expire at the end of DPC Season 2,” shared AS Monaco Gambit.

AS Monaco Gambit’s Dota 2 roster for the WePlay Animajor

  • Kiyalbek “dream`” Tayirov
  • Vasilii “AfterLife” Shishkin
  • Aleksandr “Immersion” Khmelevskoi
  • Artem “Lorenof” Melnick
  • Stanislav “633” Glushan

Na`Vi add No[o]ne and SoNNeikO to their roster

Credit: ONE Esports (SoNNeikO at ONE Esports Singapore Major)

An hour after AS Monaco Gambit’s post, Natus Vincere announced that they had signed No[o]ne and SoNNeikO to their Dota 2 roster.

“Our Dota 2 team finished 6th in the top division and failed to qualify for WePlay AniMajor. Unsatisfying results and defeats in the keymatches of the season significantly undermined the atmosphere in the team. Therefore, changes were needed to get back on track,” stated Na`Vi.

Na`Vi also shared that they could have brought No[o]ne onboard earlier, but decided to continue working with Bogdan “Iceberg” Vasilenko to qualify for the Major. 

“Unfortunately, it wasn’t possible to completely cope with internal problems,” explained Na`Vi. The organization also stated that this is the fourth time they’re crossing paths with SoNNeikO, who shares the same important goal they have — to qualify for The International 10.

About the move, No[o]ne said, “I am very happy to join Na`Vi. It’s not just the routine words for me. Together with the rest of the squad and with the support of a strong organization, we want to achieve the highest results.“

Natus Vincere’s Dota 2 roster

  • Alik “V-Tune” Vorobey
  • Vladimir “No[o]ne” Minenko
  • Roman “RAMZES666” Kushnarev
  • Vladimir “RodjER” Nikogosyan
  • Akbar “SoNNeikO” Butaev

At present, Na`Vi only has 255 DPC points in total. Since they were unable to qualify for the WePlay AniMajor, they can no longer earn any more Circuit Points.

This means the team will have to go through the Last Chance Qualifier in the Eastern European region if they hope to qualify for The International 10.

READ MORE: We may not see OG at TI10 – unless they win the Last Chance Qualifier