Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf is no longer a part of the Nigma Galaxy roster
With the ESL One Berlin Major 2023 now in the books, teams are already looking ahead to the future. Even teams that did not participate in the event are making roster moves since players tend to look for new opportunities after a big tournament. Players who caught the eye with their stellar performances hope for more lucrative contracts elsewhere, while lower-ranked teams try to secure big team players who have underperformed. Nigma Galaxy, who are aiming for a promotion to the DPC Division I, have been one of the teams busy reorganizing their lineup following the conclusion of the event. The team’s Dota 2 registration page implies that they have freed up another slot in their roster by bidding farewell to their safelaner Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf. This news follows the earlier departure of midlaner Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan from the active roster. No official announcement, however, from either party has yet been made.
Apparently, Ammar won’t be playing for Nigma Galaxy.
ATF -> ex-Ooreedoo Thinders with high possibility pic.twitter.com/79TVDNsoFb
— Arseny Kuzminsky (@_koozya) May 8, 2023
If ATF did leave the team, the current Nigma Galaxy roster has only three players at the moment. Ivan “MinD_ContRoL” Ivanov, Maroun “GH” Merhej, and Kuro “KuroKy” Takhasomi are the ones who are still with the European outfit.
After The International 11 (TI11), Nigma welcomed Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf to the team, replacing Amer “Miracle-” Al-Barkawi who was on a hiatus to focus on his health. Although ATF was originally known for his offlane prowess, he surprised many in the Dota 2 community by successfully adapting to the role of a safelaner for Nigma.
Despite making changes to their roster, Nigma continued to struggle in Tour 1 of the DPC 2023, finishing in sixth place without posing much of a threat. Things didn’t improve in Tour 2 either, as the team slipped to eighth place and was ultimately relegated to Division II.
Nigma attempted to overcome the challenges of Western Europe (WEU) by experimenting with new playstyles and swapping roles. These efforts, however, proved to be ineffective, and Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf was eventually placed on the inactive roster before the DreamLeague S19 season. Even the return of Amer “Miracle-” Al-Barkawi could not boost the team’s morale and performance.
With the departure of both ATF and SumaiL, Nigma fans will undoubtedly be curious about the team’s plans for the future. Regardless of having a core group of accomplished Dota 2 players, Nigma have struggled to find success in both the DPC 2021-22 and DPC 2023.
While SumaiL has already found a new home in Team Aster until The International 12, the future of ATF is uncertain as of now.
estnn.com
