Teamless, these top Dota 2 players are currently free agents

The pattern of roster shuffles before and after big events is something most people look forward to but it isn't always exciting for players. The shuffle season saw many players separating from their teams and while some transferred to a new one, some are left teamless for the season.

Only months ago these players were competing on the biggest stage of esports, and now they’re on a hunt for a new home. Here are the hottest free agents in Dota 2.

Martin "Saksa" Sazdov was picked on board of OG’s lineup in 2020 after his incredible MMR stint - having 3 of his accounts on the top 4 of Europe leaderboards.

However, after TI10, the roster disbanded to pursue personal interests and Saksa remains teamless until today. But his prowess is still prominent as ever, as he once again achieved #1 rank on the EU leaderboards recently. He has stated his availability and that he’s even willing to play in other regions.

Aliwi "w33" Omar joined Team Liquid in 2019. But then, not many people were convinced of the team’s potential, especially due to the last-minute addition. Proving the doubters wrong, they successfully stomped through TI9, placing 2nd behind OG.

However, after a poor performance in the ONE Esports Singapore Major in 2021, w33 is placed on the inactive roster. His last competitive appearance was with Team Romania, which competed in the IESF World Championship 2021: East Europe.

Recently, Alliance’s Kelly Ong revealed that they offered w33 to join their team, however, it couldn’t happen due to Alliance’s betting sponsors which conflict with his religious beliefs. He is currently actively streaming on Twitch and playing solo pubs.

It’s not far-fetched to say that everybody was surprised when Evil Geniuses’ captain, Tal "Fly" Aizik made his move to Southeast Asia. He has a long history in Dota 2 with multiple unsuccessful runs until he joins Evil Geniuses in 2018. The team found a good balance with Fly leading the squad and have consistently been on top of the pro scene until their disappointing run at TI10. Fly departed the roster and joined Talon Esports in SEA ahead of the first season in 2022. Together with star players like Damien "kpii" Chok and Kim "Gabbi" Villafuerte Santos, Talon was expected to put on a show. However, the squad fell short, not able to even make it to Division 1.

Under the reasons of COVID-19’s complications, Fly parted ways with Talon. He didn't exactly inform that he's looking for a team but is now playing in the NA servers and would likely scout for an NA team next.

A two-time TI winner up for grabs? A while ago, Anathan "ana" Pham came out of retirement and returned to his home at OG. However, things didn't really go as planned and ana went back to retirement.

He was gone from the game for a long time but again, he marked a striking return.

It started when rumors of ana joining Invictus Gaming went around town. And recently, a rumor of T1 picking up ana went viral before the start of the Regional Finals. This theory wasn't ridiculous considering the fact that ana was grinding Dota 2 at an insane rate of roughly 15 games a day. The captain of T1, Carlo "Kuku" Palad also apparently leaked their scrims with one of their players being ana. However, ana has yet to join any team. He has been playing more and more pubs and although he didn't exactly mention his availability, we can expect to see the legendary carry return to the pro scene.

Arif "MSS" Anwar is one of the well-known players in the NA region. He was one of the foundations of Quincy Crew’s origins and despite being an independent stack, they had put on a brilliant performance in the scene. But after they fell short at TI10, MSS departed the crew and scouted for other opportunities.

He recently played as a last-minute stand-in for Evil Geniuses during the recent DPC matches - filling in the shoes of their offlaner, Egor "Nightfall" Grigorenko. The team seemed to gain more composure compared to their previous matches in the league, even defeating Quincy Crew who was close to achieving their undefeated streak. 

MSS posted about his stand-in experience and said that he will stream regularly until he finds a team.

Linus "Limmp" Blomdin was the midlaner for Alliance for almost 2 years. The team had a decent performance earlier on but their best run was throughout the 2021 DPC. In the Western European Regional Leagues, Alliance performed exceptionally well and scored 2nd and 1st for both seasons. However, the Regional Kings couldn’t maintain their brilliant performance during LAN events. Ultimately, after a poor run at TI10, Limmp parted ways with Alliance. He proceeded to inform that he’s looking for a team; however, he has been inactive on social media since then.

The Swedish veteran, Gustav "s4" Magnusson has long been with Alliance and went through highs and lows together. In 2021, they dominated the Regional Leagues but couldn't deliver the same performance at offline events. Eventually, S4 parted ways with what seemed like home. S4 has been inactive for a while now and an update has yet to come.

Only recently, Simon "Handsken" Rasmus Haag became a free agent. Even after the massive post-TI10 roster shuffle, Alliance struggled to find its balance. The new squad went on to lose all but one series in the first season of 2022 DPC, facing the inevitable relegation. The CEO of Alliance, Jonathan "Loda" Berg informed that they want to rebuild the team. Handsken, who was playing as the pos 5 and team captain, then departed the lineup and is currently a free agent - but he has yet to inform his interests in scouting a new team.

Another free agent, Rodrigo "LESLÃO" Santos is now available as a result of Alliance's roster rebuild. He is an offlaner who joined Alliance after departing Quincy Crew. Following the unsuccessful season, Lelis has also been removed from the team. He is currently streaming his daily pubs.

Avery "SVG" Silverman last captained Quincy Crew for a long time, but after the team fell short at TI10, he departed the roster. Recently, he appeared on the panel of WEU's Regional Leagues. It isn't clear what path he will take in the future, whether as a pro player or a broadcast talent; but for now, SVG is still a free agent.

The first DPC season of 2021-2022 is about to reach its end and the storm of roster changes is about to come. We're all definitely excited to see if any of the free agents will make a return and if you're keen to know, stay tuned to Esports.gg!