Dota 2: Nigma Galaxy parts ways with MinD_ContRoL, Yuma, and Mikey while GH takes a break

Struggling Dota 2 team Nigma Galaxy announced sweeping changes to its roster on Wednesday (20 December) as four of its players have parted ways with the squad.

Nicaraguan carry player Yuma "Yuma" Langlet, Iranian midlaner Kasra "Mikey" Mesbah, and Bulgarian offlaner Ivan "MinD_ContRoL" Ivanov have all parted ways with Nigma Galaxy while Lebanese position 4 support player Maroun "GH" Merhej has been placed on the team's inactive roster as he takes a break from competitive play.

With these changes, only team captain Kuro "Kuroky" Takhasomi remains on Nigma Galaxy's roster.

Longtime fans of Nigma Galaxy will lament the departures of MinD_ContRoL and GH, who have been with the organisation since its formation and even before that.

In a post on his personal X (formerly Twitter) account, MinD_ContRoL expressed his gratitude to the Nigma Galaxy organisation and his teammates.

"Indeed from 5Jungz to Nigma Galaxy, it was one of the best times in my life. But everything has an end, time to say goodbye to my favorite team and people I have ever worked with. Nigma Galaxy, thank you for everything you have done for me," said MinD_ContRoL.

Meanwhile, GH explained in a video posted by Nigma Galaxy that he made the difficult decision to take a break from professional play to spend more time with his family and loved ones.

"I have been going back and forth on this decision and it was not an easy choice to make. For the past years, I spent most of my time in the game and I have sacrificed a lot. For the moment, I will focus on giving some time to my family and to my loved ones," said GH.

"I will keep following up with the team [...] thank you all for the support you have given me after all these years."

MinD_ContRoL had been with the 5Jungz stack that was created in 2015 and went on to play under the banner of Team Liquid, with GH also joining the squad in 2017.

The Team Liquid roster of Lasse "MATUMBAMAN" Urpalainen, Amer "Miracle-" Al-Barkawi, MinD_ContRoL, GH, and Kuroky went on to claim the Aegis of Champions in The International (TI) 2017. That squad mostly stayed together, but with Aliwi "w33" Omar replacing MATUMBAMAN, and finished second in TI 2019.

Shortly after TI 2019, the roster parted ways with Liquid and founded Nigma Galaxy. However, the team has failed to reach the heights it once did in the years that followed. While the team showed flashes of promise in the 2023 season, it still ended in disappointment.

After Miracle announced an extended health break last December, Nigma Galaxy announced one of the biggest signings of the offseason as former OG offlaner Ammar "ATF" Al-Assaf joined the team as Miracle's replacement on the carry role.

With ATF joining a roster that also included big names like Sumail "SumaiL" Hassan, MinD_ControL, GH, and Kuroky, Nigma Galaxy were expected to at least be competitive in the cutthroat competition of the Western European regional league.

Instead, Nigma Galaxy failed to make a splash, finishing the Winter Tour in sixth place before getting knocked down to Division II following an eighth place finish in the Spring Tour.

Following the Nigma Galaxy's demotion to Division II, ATF was placed on the inactive roster and Miracle- was forced to return as a stand-in for DreamLeague Season 19, where the team finished in 13th-14th place.

Nigma Galaxy's roster shakeup continued in May, when they announced that SumaiL was loaned to China's Team Aster while ATF was loaned to rising Western European squad Quest Esports. The team replaced their departing players with standout rookies Yuma and Mikey in the hopes for a resurgence in the last leg of the season.

Nigma Galaxy then finished second in the Division II Summer Tour regional league. However, they failed to earn a spot in TI 2023 after bombing out of the tournament's Western European qualifier in 9th-11th place.

With the departures of MinD_ContRoL, GH, Yuma, and Mikey and only team captain Kuroky remaining on the roster, Nigma Galaxy's future in Dota 2 remains up in the air.

Nigma Galaxy Dota 2 roster:

1. N/A

2. N/A

3. N/A

4. N/A

5. Kuro "Kuroky" Takhasomi

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