Cover-Credits:
In a very unexpected move, Lasse Aukusti "MATUMBAMAN" Urpalainen has joined Team Liquid ahead of the upcoming Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) 2021-22. In a video uploaded on his Twitter account, which features the winning moment of his first-place victory with Team Liquid at The International 7 (TI7), the player is seen posing in Team Liquid's jersey. Team Liquid confirmed the arrival of MATUMBAMAN within minutes on Twitter, writing "Matu is coming home." MATUMBAMAN had departed from Team Secret's Dota 2 roster just a couple of days ago.
MATUMBAMAN returns to Team Liquid, his TI7 Winning Organization
The video that MATUMBAMAN uploaded concluded with the words "I'm coming home."
Team Liquid confirmed his arrival shortly after, posting images of MATUMBAMAN in his vintage shorts enjoying the moment of victory at TI7.
With this change, Team Liquid’s Dota 2 roster now consists of seven players.
Michael "miCKe" Vu
Lasse Aukusti "MATUMBAMAN" Urpalainen
Max "qojqva" Bröcker
Samuel "Boxi" Svahn
Tommy "Taiga" Le
Aydin "iNSaNiA" Sarkohi
Ludwig "zai" Wåhlberg
William "Blitz" Lee (coach)
MATUMBAMAN was on Team Liquid from 2015 to 2019. The team he was on included players who are now on Nigma Galaxy. That Team Liquid roster was one of the most intense competitors during its time, winning the coveted TI7 as well as other significant international events.
MATUMBAMAN is the second former member of Team Secret who has moved to Team Liquid after zai. Neither player's role has yet been revealed, nor is it known at this point who the two players will replace. MATUMBAMAN had played as the safelaner for Team Secret, whereas zai played as the offlaner. Both players are capable of playing other roles, however. It is important to note that miCKe has already been listed as a Team Liquid member on Valve’s Majors Registration Page at the time of writing this article.
In the wake of its inability to qualify for The International 10, Team Liquid appears to be making some drastic roster changes. Despite playing well in patches, the team failed to maintain consistency during the entire DPC 2021 campaign. This roster will see the departure of two players which would mark an end to a very long period of time when these players played together.
Team Liquid is slated to compete in the Upper Division of the European regional league in the DPC 2021-22. An announcement about Team Liquid's final five man roster should be coming soon since the roster lock date for the league is 21st Nov 2021.
