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An image of AVULUS' three new players: dEsire, Fly, and Mo13ei (Image: AVULUS).

Western European Dota 2 team AVULUS has added Fly, Mo13ei, and dEsire to its roster (Image: AVULUS).

Dota 2

4 weeks ago

AVULUS announce revamped Dota 2 roster with Fly, Mo13ei, and dEsire

AVULUS also announced that SoNNeikO has been moved to the inactive roster to make way for a new captain in Fly.

Western European team AVULUS has announced major changes to its Dota 2 roster, officially confirming the additions of Tal “Fly” Aizik, Fabian “Mo13ei” Knehr, and Athanasios “dEsire” Kartsabas to the active lineup.

Mo13ei and dEsire had already been playing for AVULUS as stand-ins since early April for ESL One Raleigh 2025. Despite being last-minute additions, they helped AVULUS secure a Top 8 finish at the major LAN event. Their transition to permanent members was largely expected, as the team had vacant spots in positions 2 and 4.

However, Fly’s addition to the roster came as a surprise, stepping in to replace Akbar “SoNNeikO” Butaev. Fly recently stood in for the veteran captain during PGL Wallachia Season 4 as SoNNeikO missed out on the event with VISA complications. However, SoNNeikO did not return to the lineup, with AVULUS announcing his move to the inactive roster just hours before revealing the new team. Originally built around SoNNeikO’s leadership, the team now appears to be heading in a new direction with Fly taking over as captain.

AVULUS Dota 2 roster:

  1. Aleksey “Smiling Knight” Sviridov
  2. Fabian “Mo13ei” Knehr
  3. Andreas “Xibbe” Ragnemalm
  4. Athanasios “dEsire” Kartsabas
  5.  Tal “Fly” Aizik
  6. Andrey “MAg-” Chipenko (Coach)

AVULUS’ roster changes over time

Despite being formed only in August 2024, AVULUS quickly established itself as a stalwart competitor in the bloodbath that is the Western European Dota 2 scene, finishing in the Top 6 at ESL One Bangkok 2024, the last major tournament of the previous year. However, the team struggled at the start of 2025, placing 15th–16th at DreamLeague Season 25 and 12th–14th at PGL Wallachia Season 3–among many other disappointing results.

This phase of struggle led to the departures of mid laner Daniel “Stormstormer” Schoetzaunow on trial with OG, and position 4 support player Marcel “Ekki” HołowienkoTheir departures came shortly after the team's controversial qualification for ESL One Raleigh, where they advanced by default after Natus Vincere Junior, who initially qualified, was disqualified for abusing bugs during the qualifiers.

AVULUS brought in Mo13ei and dEsire as last-minute replacements for ESL One Raleigh. The roster showed immediate improvement, finishing 7th–8th despite competing with stand-ins. Mo13ei and dEsire showed strong synergy, likely due to their brief stint together under Alliance in October 2024. 

Fly, meanwhile, has been active across the Western European scene, playing with MOUZ until March 2025 then joining the Capy Bara stack for the DreamLeague Season 26 qualifiers. He also stood in for Tundra Esports during FISSURE Universe: Episode 4 in March, helping the team secure a 5th–6th place finish.

AVULUS gears up for the year’s biggest tournaments

The additions of Fly, Mo13ei, and dEsire comes ahead of a crucial stretch in the competitive calendar. AVULUS said in their announcement that they are preparing for the year’s most important tournaments, which of course, hints at The International 2025 in Germany from 4 to 14 September and the Esports World Cup 2025, taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 8 to 19 July.

But before cracking their knuckles for the two big events, AVULUS has room for practice in their next challenge. The team will compete at DreamLeague Season 26, beginning 19 May. With tons of ESL Pro Tour points on the line, the event will be critical in determining qualification for the Esports World Cup.


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