Rejects rising – CIS Rejects and EU Rejects rosters heading into DPC Tour 3

Haven’t you heard? The Rejects is the new buzzword in competitive Dota 2 recently, notably in the DPC (2021-22). CIS Rejects and EU Rejects are two teams playing under the notorious namesakes because of their unsponsored status.

Anyhow, the Rejects’ namesake has a deeper backstory behind it because we are nearing the third and final Tour of the season. Teams, especially well-performing ones will likely finalize their roster until the International 11 (TI11). Whereas underwhelming teams, such as Evil Geniuses and Nigma Galaxy have also made their last roster shuffle recently.

CIS Rejects’ unexpected parting

The founding players of CIS Rejects weren’t too shabby in the DPC Eastern European scene, to begin with. They climbed out of Division 2 bracket during the first Tour and managed to secure fourth place in the second Tour.

Nevertheless, three of its players parted ways after the Stockholm Major conclusion. While Roman “RAMZES666” Kushnarev got an irrefusable offer to play for Virtus.pro, Vladimir “RodjER” Nikogosian, and Artsiom “Fng” Barshak left without securing any team recruitment letter beforehand. This begs the question of whether the CIS Rejects players felt that their line-up just isn’t viable to qualify them for PGL Arlington Major, let alone TI11.

Anyhow, the new faces of Virtus.pro include Evgeny “Heaven” Ponomarev, Aleksandr “Immersion” Khmelevskoi, and Nikita “Munkushi~” Chepurnykh. Alongside are senior players, Gleb “depressed kid” Zyryanov and Pavel “9pasha” Khvastunov.

On paper, having Immersion around is likely the win condition CIS Rejects need to win some DPC EEU matches. The veteran player is among the most celebrated player in the scene, who isn’t a household name from Team Spirit. Instead, the player has his roots closer to AS Monaco Gambit.

EU Rejects the Western European counterpart

Frankly, CIS Rejects’ new roster looks quite promising, especially with Immersion’s leadership and collective drafting expertise.

However, EU Rejects doesn’t seem like the next underdog to shake the EEU region anytime soon. The remnants of Into the Breach make up the new roster, namely Rasmus Johan “Chessie” Blomdin, Elliott “adzantick” Hammond, Alexei “j4” Lipai, and Indji “Shad” Lub.

Shad has roots dating from his time in Vikin.gg, which became a rising star during Vikin.gg’s prime. Unfortunately, Vikin.gg didn’t have the most sustainable season to thrive during the pandemic, where LAN tournaments were halted.

History aside, Shad alongside Chessie could potentially become a reliable team to rival other DPC WEU powerhouses. This isn’t an impossible accomplishment, considering how underwhelming the EEU region has been at Stockholm Major.

The Rejects at DPC Tour 3

Fortunately, we can expect action from CIS Rejects at DPC EEU Tour 3 because their predecessors already secured them a spot. Even so, don’t expect DPC EEU Tour 3 to be a guaranteed ticket to TI11 because CIS Rejects would have to secure a phenomenal top four.

Instead, expect CIS Rejects to prepare for the EEU Regional Qualifiers for TI11 instead. The DPC will still be great practice before their last chance at the qualifiers. Once again, we have our eyes set on Immersion specifically to deliver everybody’s expectations. Immersion is reputable for drafting classic heroes that may not be the meta.

He ensures the core roles have stable, sustainable heroes, such as Juggernaut or Phantom Assassin while leaving the support role to proactive initiation-based supports. Although his old-school drafts may come off as stale, these are stable drafts which scale well into the late game. That said, he doesn’t force matches into late-game territory but is comfortable ending matches at approximately 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, EU Rejects being their first debut into DPC, is unlikely to secure a spot in Division 1. However, they can participate in the open qualifiers into Division 2. For the young line-up, their best shot for TI11 would be to pull off a miracle at WEU regional qualifiers.

As the International 11 at Singapore draws closer, every team will be eyeing an opportunity to play at the grandest championship in Dota 2 Esports.

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