Image: Nouns Esports
With Nouns Esports' departure, no major organisations remain in the already struggling North American Dota 2 scene.
North American esports organisation Nouns Esports announced on Friday (November 1) that it will be departing the Dota 2 scene. While Nouns did not cite a specific reason for their departure, it may be due to financial issues as their announcement said that “Dota 2 is as demanding as it is rewarding, both competitively and commercially.”
With that said, Nouns left the possibility of their return to the Dota 2 scene open with the right partner as their “love for Dota remains strong” and are “aiming once more to be North America's finest.”
Nouns' departure from Dota 2 esports also meant that its roster of Yuma “Yuma” Langlet, Philipp “Copy” Bühler, Nico “Gunnar” Lopez, Rodrigo “Lelis” Santos, and Tal “Fly” Aizik have been released to free agency.
Nouns entered the Dota 2 scene back in May 2022 with the signing of the 4 Zoomers stack that had been competitive in the then-noteworthy North American regional league of the 2022 Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) season. The original Nouns roster would go on to finish second in the North American regional qualifier for The International (TI) 2022 and earn a spot in the Last Chance Qualifier, where they finished 9th-12th.
Nouns then enjoyed their best season in 2023, thanks in large part to the signings of South American veterans Héctor “K1” Rodríguez and Lelis. In the final DPC season, the team finished third in the first two Tours and second in the third Tour of the North American regional league.
Nouns then qualified for TI for the first time when they won the North American regional qualifier for TI 2023 in Seattle. Nouns notably pulled off a huge upset over TI 2022 champions Tundra Esports in the Seeding Decider, which earned them an upper bracket berth in the Playoffs. However, Nouns were knocked down to the lower bracket by Azure Ray before getting knocked out in 7th-8th place by Gaimin Gladiators.
Nouns' final year in Dota 2 saw them become the preeminent organisation in the North American scene as Shopify Rebellion fell off while the likes of TSM and Evil Geniuses have already jumped ship.
With the DPC and its regional leagues no more, Nouns mainly competed in international tournaments but struggled against stronger competition. Their most notable performances in this period included a 9th-12th place finish in BetBoom Dacha Dubai 2024 and two 5th-6th place finishes in Elite League Season 2 and FISSURE Universe: Episode 3.
Nouns qualified to TI for the second time when they won the North American regional qualifier for TI 2024, where they notably swept Shopify Rebellion in the finals.
Nouns once again produced some huge upsets in TI 2024, this time taking down defending champions Team Spirit in the Seeding Decider and earning another upper bracket spot in the Playoffs. Just like the previous year, Nouns were quickly knocked down to the lower bracket by Gaimin Gladiators and eliminated in 9th-12th place by BetBoom Team.
Nouns' last two tournament appearances in Dota 2 then saw them finish 5th-6th in PGL Wallachia Season 2 and bomb out of BetBoom Dacha Belgrade 2024 in 11th-12th place.
With their departure from Dota 2 now formalised, Nouns thanked the players and staff that had been part of the team throughout its time in the scene.
“It’s with a heavy heart that we announce we will be stepping back from Dota 2. The last two and a half years have been an incredible journey, together we established our legacy of representing North America on the biggest stages in Dota 2. From our early days signing 4 Zoomers and competing in the TI11 LCQ in Singapore to back-to-back Internationals, walking out in front of our families and the NA Dota crowd in Seattle for The International 12 will forever be one of the highlights of our journey together,” said Nouns.
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