To keep track of player changes, also check this list of recent player transfers.
Every year, the conclusion of The International is also the beginning of several roster changes for both Eastern and Western squads. There are several sources of information regarding the upcoming changes of 2014, but it is difficult to confirm any of them without an official source. In this article, you will find the most important confirmed changes, along with any interesting rumor we come across.
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Confirmed changes
29/07/2014
Dominick 'Black^' Reitmeier announced that he will be leaving Chinese team CIS on good terms, with the hopes that he may find a new team either in Europe or China. Source
26/08/2014
With InFlame leaving for LGD Gaming and June joining iG, the team stands without players.
Minor changes are coming for HGT, with Xun Tao 'XTT' Hu being replaced by Peng 'Icy' Wang. XTT will be moving to the Chinese squad New Element.
Jian 'ZSMJ' Gong
Hu 'KAKA' Liangzhi
Xiu 'prettyhaw' Xiu
Wang 'Icy' Peng
Guo 'Cys' Sida
25/07/2014
Jiang Cen "YYF" announced his retirement from Dota 2. In his post he thanked his former teammates and his fans for supporting him. YYF is a veteran in the Chinese DotA scene by first joining LGD and then recruited by iG. YYF showcased his exceptional skill in the offlane during the TI2, where he and his teammates claimed the Aegis. YYF hinted that he will not leave DotA2 entirely but instead focus on another objective. Source
26/08/2014
Lin 'June' Shi Yang and Lin 'CHisbug' Chen are the new members of Invictus Gaming, replacing YYF and Faith respectively. June used to be a member of CIS-Game up until recently, and CHisbug is a Chinese support veteran returning to professional DotA. Source
Luo 'Luo / Xi' Yinqi
Luo 'Ferrari_430' Feichi
Lin 'June' Shi Yang
Wong Hock 'ChuaN' Chuan
Li 'CHisbug' Chen
06/08/2014
Xie 'DD' Bin announced his official retirement from competitive DotA2. LGD is now left with four members, and they will need at least one new player to compete in upcoming tournaments. Source
26/08/2014
Wang 'Rabbit' Zhang is no longer a member of LGD as he has officially joined NewBee. The TI4 champions apparently paid 800,000 CNY (~$140,000) for Rabbit. Source
Furthermore, Faith, MMY, Inflame and Sylar were announced as the completing members of the team, making up a total remake of the team, leaving only Yao remaining from the former roster. Source
Yao 'Yao' Zheng Zheng
Zeng 'Faith' Hong Da
Lei 'Dai / MMY' Zheng Rong
Liu 'Sylar' Jia Jun
He 'Inflame' Yong Zheng
29/07/2014
Zhang 'xiao8' Ning, NewBee's captain announced on weibo that he is retiring temporarily from the scene. It is presently unknown whether he'll return to the scene as a player or assume another role. Source
26/08/2014
Wang 'Rabbit' Zhang is no longer a member of LGD as he has officially joined NewBee. The TI4 champions apparently paid 800,000 CNY (~$140,000) for Rabbit. Source
Chen 'Hao' Zhi Hao
Wang 'Rabbit' Zhang
Pan 'Mu' Zhang
Jiao 'banana' Wang
Zhao Hui 'SanSheng' Wang
23/07/2014
Zhi Cheng Zhang 'LaNm' has officially retired from competitive DotA2. He stated that The International 4 was his final competition. LaNm is an old-timer of Chinese professional DotA, starting his career back in 2010. He took part in four Internationals, with EHOME's second place back in 2011 being the best placement he has achieved in the competition. Source
Yee Fung Chai 'MuShi' announced today that he will not follow LaNm's example, as he will not retire from competitive DotA2 this year. He may however change roles, and become a coach for example. Source
17/08/2014
Xu 'BurNIng' Zhi Lei has announced his official retirement from competitive DotA2. With both BurNIng and LaNm gone, DK is now down to three members. Source
26/08/2014
When ACE announced the official post TI4 rosters, Team DK's squad was scattered to other teams without players replacing them for the time being. The team is reported to rebuild with new players coached by BurNing. Source
31/07/2014
Lin Sen Xu, also known as fy, is set to stay with Vici Gaming. The team announced via twitter that their support player would not leave the team. Source
17/08/2014
Bai 'rOtk' Fan announced that he will be retiring from competitive DotA2 this season. rOtk has been the captain of ViCi Gaming since his acquisition from DK back in 2013. Source
26/08/2014
The Sylar leaving to LGD rumour was confirmed along with the team welcoming new members Iceiceice and Black^. Source
Lu 'Fenrir' Chau
Xie 'Super!' Junhao
Xu 'fy' Linsen
Daryl 'iceiceice' Koh Pei Xiang
Dominik 'BlacK^' Reitmeier
13/08/2014
Cloud9's owner Jack Etienne announced the departure of Wehsing 'SingSing' Yuen from the team. With SingSing being officially released from C9, this means that Team Tinker may be a permanent squad. Thus, we expect announcements from Liquid and Mousesports soon. Source
18/08/2014
Cloud9 adds, former Mousesports player, Adrian 'FATA' Trinks to their roster to replace WehSing 'SingSing' Yuen as the team's mid lane player. Source
Johan 'pieliedie' Åström
Armand 'bOne7' Pittner
Jacky 'EternalEnvy' Mao
Kurtis 'Aui_2000' Ling
Adrian 'FATA-' Trinks
29/07/2014
Mason 'Mason' Venne has confirmed his departure from Evil Geniuses. In his post at NaDota forums, he claimed that he was kicked from the team, and has no plans to join another squad in the near future. Source
23/08/2014
Clinton 'Fear' Loomis has returned to his former squad EG. Loomis was sidelined early 2014 when he was diagnosed with an arm injury that prevented his participation in the team's official training and matches. Since then he has taken the role of the team's coach. It is unknown whether he is going to reclaim his hard-carry role or switch roles with one of his teammates. Source
Sahiil 'Universe' Arora
Peter 'PPD' Dager
Clinton 'Fear' Loomis
Artour 'Arteezy' Babaev
Ludwig 'Zai' Wåhlberg
20/08/2014
Adrian 'Era' Kryeziu is no longer a member of Fnatic. He is now teamless and will now seek a new squad to continue his career. The Fnatic organization has yet to announce Era's replacement. Source
27/08/2014
Johan 'BigDaddy' Sundstein and Tal 'Fly' Aizik leaves Fnatic. They are part of a new team called Team Secret. Fnatic has yet to introduce a new roster. Source
27/07/2014
Jonathan 'Unicornxoxo' Arge tweeted that he is no longer a member of MYM. The squad is now left with four Danish players. No extra information is available about the future of the squad or the players. Source
Moments after Unicornxoxo announced his departure, Andreas 'Cr1t' Franck Nielsen has tweeted that he has officially parted ways with MYM. However, the future of the squad is still unknown as of now. Source
29/07/2014
Jon 'BabyKnight' Andersen has been announced as MYM's newest member. The two remaining spots in the team have yet to be finalized on. Source
02/08/2014
In a mini interview with dota2.ru, the M5 representative Maxim 'nirvana_sf' Zalilov confirmed the return of the Russian club in DotA2 after almost two years of absence. Zalilov stated that the team is looking for a stable and solid roster The official announcement of the new roster will come later in August. Source
08/08/2014
It seems that the official M5 squad has been announced. It includes five famous players of the Russian scene:
29/08/2014
Ars-Art has announced his retirement and is replaced by none other than PGG. Source
Maxim 'TpoH' Vernikov
Vladislav 'Blowyourbrain' 'Morozyuk
Ivan 'Vigoss' Shinkarev
Vladimir 'PGG' Anosov
Igor 'Nexus' Lisakovsky
Source
24/07/2014
Arif 'MSS' Anwar announced on his twitter account that he will take a break from competitive DotA for around a year due to his school commitments. His absence leaves Mousesports with four players. Source
18/08/2014
Cloud9 adds, former Mousesports player, Adrian 'FATA' Trinks to their roster to replace WehSing 'SingSing' Yuen as the team's mid lane player.
18/08/2014
Kuro 'KuroKy' Salehi Takhasomi is no longer a member of Natus Vincere EU. So far the organization has not announced his replacement, so the roster now requires one more member to be complete. Source
Clement 'Puppey' Ivanov leaves Natus Vincere. As speculated, long-term captain Puppey has left the Na'Vi organization and is set to build a new team, most likely with his friend Kuroky. Source
25/08/2014
Vanskor and fng join Na'Vi. What has been a strong rumor for the past weeks has finally been confirmed officially. Natus Vincere will pick up former Empire and Power Rangers players Vanskor and fng. Source
Danil 'Dendi' Ishutin
Alexander 'Xboct' Dashkevich
Gleb 'Funn1k' Lipatnikov
Ivan 'Vanskor' Skorokhod
Artem 'fng' Barshak (C)
29/07/2014
Braxton 'Brax' Paulson just confirmed that the roster of Na'Vi.US will not change. The five players will stay together and enter more tournaments in 2014. Source
24/08/2014
Ivan 'VANSKOR' Skorokhod has left Team Empire, leaving the team only with one support player. However, Airat 'Silent' Gaziev has served as a support for the team before, so it will not be surprising if a carry player is introduced to the Russian squad. Source
26/08/2014
Alexei 'Solo' Berezin is the newest member of Team Empire, replacing Ivan 'VANSKOR' Skorokhod. Solo used to be a solo-mid player in RoX.KIS but he may switch to support for his new team. Source
Roman 'Resolut1on' Fominok
Andrew 'Mag' Chipenko
Ayrat 'Silent' Gaziev
Andrey 'ALWAYSWANNAFLY' Bondarenko
Aleksei 'Solo' Berezin
11/08/2014
A new squad called Team Tinker just registered in the upcoming i-league. The roster includes members of Cloud9, Mousesports, Liquid and Fnatic.
25/08/2014
The team formed for the I-League qualifier and since then Xcalibur has not been seen with the team.
Wehsing 'SingSing' Yuen
Per Olsson 'Pajkatt' Lille
Sam 'BuLba' Sosale
Max 'qojqva' Broecker
Source
Terra Firma eSports / Denial eSports
23/07/2014
In the video interview with GosuGamers during TI4, Sébastien '7ckngMad' Debs announced that he will be forming a new all-French squad with his former teammate Titouan 'Sockshka' Merloz. The three other members of the team will be Jong-Bin 'crio_j' Choi, Sullivan 'Joraal' Jacquemet and Arben. The five players have been training together for some time and they will probably join their first tournaments under the new banner this year. Source
12/08/2014
The squad is now official, and it will be named Terra Firma eSports. It includes the five players mentioned above, playing under the firm formed by 7ckngMad and two former members of Quantic Gaming organization. Source
The team didn't last for long under that name, since they were shortly after picked up by Denial eSports.
Sebastien '7ckngMad' Debs (C)
Titouan 'Sockshka' Merloz
Sullivan 'Joraal' Jacquemet
Choi 'Crio_J' Jong-Bin
Arben 'Arbenlol' Forest-Sisalem
29/07/2014
Jimmy 'DeMoN' Ho is no longer a member of Team Liquid. His contract expires at the end of July, and will most likely not be renewed. Source
04/08/2014
Peter 'wayto' Nguyen parts ways with Team Liquid, leaving the roster with only three players left. Source
29/08/2014
Sam 'Bulba' Sosale and Max 'Qojqva' Bröcker depart from Team Liquid. The organization has stated that they will remain without a team for now. Source
07/08/2014
Sergey 'ARS-ART/Smile' Revin and Ilya 'IllidanSTR' Pevcaev are no longer members of Virtus.Pro. The organization has yet to announce any new player acquisitions. Source
07/08/2014
Alexander 'DkPhobos' Kucheria, Artur 'Goblak' Kostenko and Ilya 'IllidanSTR' Pavcaev form a new team called NVMI. Source
08/08/2014
Johnny 'JoHnNy' Lee has been shown the door from Arrow Gaming after the mediocre performance in TI4. The team will be playing with a stand-in member until they find a decent replacement. Source
20/08/2014
Johnny was eventually replaced by Malaysian player MtR.
25/07/2014
Mineski has confirmed that Ryan 'Jay' Qui will be sitting out as the team's captain and the organization will be playing under a new leadership. Jay's removal means the arrival of fresh faces onto the team and it's heavily contemplated that they are looking forward to recruit Santino and Jacko. It's also said that Jay has accussed NMA for talking to the management behind his back and picking up players. Source
13/08/2014
Mineski just announced more changes in their roster. Richard 'Paseo' Minowa has stepped down as the team's captain and he will now take the role of the coach/substitute, and Jessie Cristy 'JessieVash' Cuyco will now be the head of the team. The team will need at least one more new player to complete their roster for the new season. Source
09/08/2014
According to Titan's manager Tiffani Oling Lim, Scythe has disbanded and part of the squad will merge with First Departure. Source
Ben 'Merlini' Wu just announced his comeback to competitive Dota 2 as he will stand-in for Zephyr during KDL Season 3. He will replace Purge. Source
Unconfirmed changes
Alliance
A common rumour is that the team might see some slight roster changes, most people have been picking up on the fact that EGM has been seen playing with Team Tinker, without his Alliance-tag. Akke confirmed on Twitter that the team will be using two-standins at the start of StarLadder.
Relax
A reliable source has informed GosuGamers, that Ivan 'ArtStyle' will team up with Andrey 'Dread' Golubev and join Relax along with three players, namely, Vitaliy 'Dubas' Luhtan, Maxim 'Shachlo' Abramovskikh and Maxim 'Yoky' Kim.
Virtus Pro
Sources surrounding the team have informed GosuGamers of a possible new lineup for VP. The new roster would include Stanislav 'BzzIsPerfect' Glushan, Sergey 'God' Bragin, Vadim 'Sedoy' Musorin, Egor 'JotM' Surkov, and Valdimir 'Yol' Basov. As of now this information has not been confirmed by any Virtus.pro officials.
Fnatic
Rumors on the new Fnatic lineup have risen and people close to the team have tweeted about the potential lineup. While an official announcement is still due, it is likely that this will be the new lineup. Kai 'H4nn1' Hanbueckers, Kalle 'Trixi' Saarinen, Pascal 'Pas' Lohmeier, Matumbamam and Buugi.
Complexity Gaming
Multigaming organization Complexity Gaming has released a teaser called "#ProjectRed" and it contains a Dota 2 Logo. It seems as if the North-American organization will make a return to the Dota 2 scene after a 2 year break. Possible pickups include the team SNA around former player Fluffnstuff, ixmike and TC, StayGreen and Team Tinker. The announcement is scheduled to come on Wednesday, 27th August.
The Secret Team
One of the teams participating in StarLadder is labelled as Secret Team and there is also a so called Secret Team being invited straight to World Esports Championship. The team is heavily rumored to consist of players Puppey, KuroKy, s4, n0tail and Fly.