Stand-ins at ESL One Berlin Major

ESL One Berlin Major is about to kick off and four teams have reported they will be using stand-in players for at least some portion of the event. 

Multiple teams are being required to compete with last-minute stand-in players at ESL One Berlin Major ... again.

It seems that we can barely get through a Major without piling up the stand-ins. Two years ago ONE Esports Singapore Major had at least five teams had to utilize players from outside their normal lineup due to complications from COVID. 

• Read Stand-in Major; Has the competitive integrity of ONE Esports Singapore Major been compromised?

Nine months ago PGL's Arlington Major 2022 saw six teams playing with adjusted rosters due to visa issues. It would have been seven but Xtreme Gaming decided to withdraw after encountering visa issues and other potential logistical problems.

And here we are once again. This time it is four teams with a total of five players that are affected. 

 Teams bound for ESL One Berlin Major with stand-ins

• OG
  • Once again this team will be heading to yet another Major without their full lineup. Coach Mikhail "Misha" Agatov and captain Evgenii "Chuvash" Makarov will not be able to join OG at a Dota Pro Circuit Major. This is the third time for them both. At Stockholm Major, OG ended up claiming the trophy with Sébastien "Ceb" Debs coming back from retirement and at PGL Arlington Major they ended up with a fourth-place finish. In addition, Offlaner Dmitry “DM” Dorokhin will also not be able to join. 
  • Nigma Galaxy’s offlaner Ivan “Mind_Control” Ivanov will be stepping in for DM, while Old G’s position 5 player, Kartik “Kitrak” Rathi will help hold down the fort in place of Chu
  • OG is currently sitting at rank 23 with only 104 DPC points. 

Read OG to play with a TI7 winner as one of two stand-ins for the initial part of the ESL One Berlin Major

• BetBoom Team
  • BetBoom failed to secure a visa for Ivan "Pure" Moskalenko
  • BetBoom will bring Roman "Resolut1on" Fomynok with them to Berlin
  • With Reso standing-in, BetBoom will switch a little their lanes to accommodate the stand-in. Egor "Nightfall" Grigorenko will go back to carry position while Resolut1on will fill in in the offlane.
  • BetBoom is currently sitting on the 12th spot in the DPC rankings with just 460 points to their name and needs a top-8 finish in Berlin in order to secure more DPC points. 

Read Resolut1on to stand in for BetBoom at Berlin Major

• Team Aster
  • ESL One Berlin Major will witness a very rare occurrence in the professional scene where a top Chinese team will compete with a non-Chinese-speaking player. 
  • Zhai "Xwy" Jingkai has become “inactive for the time being.” Xwy was transferred from Aster.Aries to the main team ahead of the current Dota Pro circuit year. During the first group stage at DreamLeague unofficial reports stated that he was kicked from the team even before Aster got eliminated.
  • Syed "SumaiL" Hassan will be standing in 
  • Team Aster is currently 15th in the DPC rankings with 288 points. They will no doubt receive the 40% penalty on any points earned during the event.

Read SumaiL to stand in for Team Aster at Berlin Major

• 9 Pandas
  • Alexey "Solo" Berezin is expected to miss at least the first portion of the ESL One Berlin Major due to visa and logistical issues. 
  • Solo will join the team as soon as possible, but in the meantime, Vladimir "Rodjer" Nikogosyan may step in during the early days.
  • This is a crucial event for 9pandas. The team is sitting in 10th place with 496 points to their name. If they finish with a top 8 they will secure a tight hold on a potential TI invite. 

It is currently unclear if the teams that arrive at the Berlin Major with stand-ins due to visa issues will receive a point penalty or not.

However, having a stand-in won't make things easy even if they don't incur a penalty. Playing with stand-ins is rarely preferred, often is a headache, and always is tricky to navigate through. It can really complicate or even unravel an already-developed rapport and synergy within a team. And this doesn't even account for the adjustments in hero selection, playstyle, comfort levels, and mechanical skill. 

But with the new patch 7.33 dropping, perhaps it won't be so bad since it's just pure madness out there anyway. 

• Read 5 takeaways from Dota 2 patch 7.33

Berlin Major 

Eighteen of the world's best teams will compete for the lion's share of the $500,000 prize pool and 2700 DPC points between April 26-May 7th.

The event will begin on April 26, but fans will be able to watch live at Velodrom Arena from May 5-7th. 

The Velodrom, one of Berlin's largest concert venues, is an indoor track cycling arena with a capacity for 12,000 people.

• Read Berlin Major Survival Guide