Dota 2 roster shuffle: Quincy Crew revamp roster as ponlo and MiLAN join

North American Dota 2 stalwart Quincy Crew has revamped its roster ahead of the next Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) by acquiring international talent, announcing on Friday (5 November) that Remus "ponlo" Goh Zhi Xian from Singapore and Milan "MiLAN" Kozomara from Bosnia and Herzegovina have joined the team.

After bombing out of The International 10 (TI10) in 9th-12th place, Quincy Crew parted ways with offlaner Rodrigo "Leslão" Santos as well as support duo Arif "MSS" Anwar and Avery "LoA" Silverman.

With only Yawar "YawaR" Hassan and Quinn "Quinn" Callahan remaining on the team, Quincy Crew were able to replenish its ranks by having German coach Maurice "KheZu" Gutmann join the active roster as both offlaner and captain while ponlo and MiLAN formed its new support duo.

Ponlo is known most for reaching 10,000 matchmaking rating (MMR) on the Southeast Asian server by playing as a position 5 support back in October, making him the region's top-ranked player in his position. Meanwhile, MiLAN spent the previous DPC in the lower division of the European regional league with Creepwave and Ghost Frogs.

Quincy Crew have long been considered as the second-best team in North America behind regional rivals Evil Geniuses. In the last DPC, Quincy Crew finished second and first in the two seasons of the region's upper division. They will be looking to remain a strong contender in North America with its new international line-up.

The post-TI10 roster shuffle

The competitive Dota 2 scene revolves around TI, Dota 2's yearly world championship tournament that has regularly broken the record for the biggest prize pool for a single esports event year after year. TI10 featured a US$40 million prize pool, with the lion's share of US$18.2 million as well as the coveted Aegis of Champions going to champions Team Spirit.

The yearly post-TI roster shuffles came as a result of the importance of TI to the game's competitive scene, with teams that either failed to qualify or placed poorly in the tournament often revamping their rosters in preparation for another run at the Aegis of Champions.

TI's importance in the scene has even manifested itself in how contracts between players and their organisations are structured, with most contracts ending with the conclusion of TI.

This arrangement has allowed both teams and players to explore their options and better prepare for the next iteration of the DPC and TI.

The next DPC is expected to start in late November or December, though Dota 2 developer Valve has yet to officially announce its schedule.

This year's post-TI shuffle, as a result, is also expected to take place from October until November as rosters become locked shortly before the DPC begins.

Quincy Crew Dota 2 roster:

1. Yawar "YawaR" Hassan

2. Quinn "Quinn" Callahan

3. Maurice "KheZu" Gutmann

4. Milan "MiLAN" Kozomara

5. Remus "ponlo" Goh Zhi Xian

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