Cr1t-, Fly, and Abed are out of Shopify Rebellion as one of NA’s most iconic stacks splits in the post-TI12 roster shuffle.
North American Dota 2 is getting a massive shakeup as one of the most tenured stacks in the region is splitting up. Abed "Abed" Yusop, Andreas "Cr1t-" Nielsen, and Tal "Fly" Aizik are out of Shopify Rebellion, as per a farewell post from the team posted on Nov. 7.
In the post, Rebellion thanked the trio, saying it had been a whirlwind first year in Dota 2, but that “it became obvious that a fresh start for this group of long time veterans was needed for everyone involved to keep growing.”
Fly, Abed, Cr1t- had played together since 2019. Fly and Cr1t- had been together much longer, playing together since May 2018. The trio, along with Artour “Arteezy” Babaev, had made up the core part of the Evil Geniuses, later Shopify Rebellion, stack that had been the cornerstone of NA Dota. This will be the first time in seven years Cr1t- and Arteezy aren’t on the same roster, with the duo playing together since August 2016.
In a series of posts, Cr1t- contemplated his time with the stack and his future. “It’s been a long time in NA for me, a lot of amazing memories and friends that I hold incredibly dear and I cherish everything I’ve learned. I’ve been blessed to have such good teammates for such a long time and I wish them all the best.”
He continued in a second post: “New era for me, a new team with high aspirations and a new environment to learn in. I’ve seen a lot of slander on my name last few months and I won’t let that slide, back to being the best next year.” Cr1t-’s new team has yet to be announced. It’s unknown if the trio will remain together. Abed and Fly have yet to comment on their release.
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New start for Shopify, as well as Cr1t-, Fly, and Abed
Shopify Rebellion entered Dota 2 in December 2022, picking up the then free-agent former EG roster of Arteezy, Jonáš "SabeRLight-" Volek, Abed, Cr1t-, and Fly, as well as coach Kanishka "BuLba" Sosale. In the 2023 season, Shopify claimed first place in Tour 3 of NA DPC, and second place in both Tour 1 and 2. At the Lima Major, they had their biggest DPC success, coming fourth at the Lima Major. They also came second during DreamLeague Season 21.
However, the team’s success outside of these events was limited, falling into a perennial mid-tier position in the face of eventual winners in the EEU and WEU regions. With a shake up in the roster, Shopify Rebellion perhaps hopes something new will yield greater results.
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