Despite securing a slot in the upcoming Lima Major, HellRaisers made a sudden roster change and parted ways with Daxak.

It is quite rare to see teams shifting a solid roster right after qualifying for a Dota 2 Major. But HellRaisers just dropped a bombshell and announced the departure of its carry player, Nikita "Daxak" Kuzmin. Daxak will not play with HellRaisers in the upcoming Lima Major despite a successful run in the Eastern European (EEU) Dota Pro Circuit (DPC). The 25-year-old player took to his Telegram to address the situation rather subtly and told his fans what he plans to do next.

Daxak departs HellRaisers due to an undisclosed conflict

HellRaisers successfully qualified for the Lima Major.
HellRaisers successfully qualified for the Lima Major.

HellRaisers had a smashing start to 2023. The team fields notable players including veteran Alexey "Solo" Berezin, and young stars, Gleb "depressed kid" Zyryanov, Matvey "MieRo`" Vasyunin, and Vladislav "Antares" Kertman. 

With the powerful mix, Hellraisers showcased a great performance in the EEU DPC. The team defeated all their Division I counterparts except for BetBoom Team and Team Spirit, who both clinched first and second place. With an overall 5-2 scoreline, Hellraisers grabbed the final EEU slot for the Lima Major, which would be the organization's first big event since Dota Summit 11 (Dota Minor) in 2019.

But a week after qualifying for the Lima Major, HellRaisers parted ways with Daxak. The official announcement was short as the organization bid goodbye and stated that it will prioritize the team first. The post reads, "These decisions are never easy. But team goes first. Today we say goodbye to Daxak"

Daxak then took to his Telegram to address the matter. According to translations by Reddit user, u/burstes, Daxak called this a "funny situation" and mentioned that a certain party warned him about playing with HellRaisers. Even though there were some jabs in his post, his tone was calm as he accepts the situation and claims to have "defended his point of view". He then promised to explain everything on stream to clarify his perspective.

I am not attending the major. A very funny situation(no wonder they told me to not play in HellRaisers), but anyways I think that I defended my point of view and can be proud of the work that I've done. Not everything in our life goes as planned. I will return to streaming after getting out of low-priority and will explain everything that has happened in details / maybe will tell everything on some interview to make things clear(from my pov). in a nutshell then - ))

Daxak posted on his Telegram
Daxak's post regarding the situation with HellRaisers on Telegram.
Daxak's post regarding the situation with HellRaisers on Telegram.

HellRaisers might pick up V-Tune as a replacement

As of now, HellRaisers has yet to announce an official carry player that will fill in the vacant spot. However, the team recently fielded Alik "V-Tune" Vorobey as a stand-in in an ongoing BetBoom Universe Eps 1 tournament. The Ukrainian player had just been dropped from NAVI for the first time since 2020 following their shocking relegation. It seems like HellRaisers might pick up the free agent, though nothing is confirmed.

Stay tuned to Esports.gg for more Dota 2 news and updates.