Cover-Credits:
Lasse Aukusti "MATUMBAMAN" Urpalainen, the new carry player of Team Liquid and a former The International (TI) champion, has communicated in an interview with Monster Gaming that this year will be his last as a competitive Dota 2 player. Although he was thinking of retiring after being eliminated from TI10 while playing for Team Secret, MATUMBAMAN stated that after a calmer reflection, he still felt he had one more year of competitive life in him. However, one year from now MATUMBAMAN noted that nothing would change his mind about retiring.
MATUMBAMAN talks about his exit from Team Secret and his plans to retire next year
MATUMBAMAN finished TI10 in third place at the end of his two years with Team Secret. Team Secret was a strong contender and demonstrated some excellent performances throughout the event, but ultimately fell short to the champions of TI10, Team Spirit, in the lower bracket final.
Following the elimination, MATUMBAMAN announced to his teammates at Team Secret that he might consider retiring. After returning home, he changed his mind and decided to play for one more year. However, at that moment MATUMBAMAN also realized that he no longer felt like he was part of Team Secret.
“After our loss at TI10, I told the team I was thinking of retiring. But after going home and thinking about it with a calm head, I came to the conclusion that there still was one more year in me. During that time, my former teammates [at Team Secret] were quite stressed about the situation because of my uncertainty. After a while, it didn’t feel [like] I was a part of Team Secret and it didn’t feel right for me anymore,” MATUMBAMAN explained about his decision to leave Team Secret.
In addition, the Finnish player admitted that the moment of elimination was hard but that he gradually came to appreciate the third place finish after some time passed. However, when he takes into account that he already won TI in 2017 with Team Liquid, the third place finish is still disappointing for MATUMBAMAN.
With this being his last competitive year as a Dota 2 player, MATUMBAMAN wishes to lift the Aegis of Champions once more with Team Liquid. He also revealed that it was already in his plans to join Team Liquid after TI9, but it was not possible at that time but now he has been "willingly" welcomed into the squad.
As part of his quest to win TI11 in his last competitive year, MATUMBAMAN mentioned he hopes for a “positive work atmosphere without experiencing burnout.” “Even if I don’t win The International with Team Liquid again, I’d like to see the newer players benefit from my experiences so that when I retire, I can take credit for their insane plays,” the player added.
As per MATUMBAMAN's statements in the interview, he is quite determined to hang up his boots next year, saying that nothing would change his mind. But for now, the player will be focusing on doing well in the Western European Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) league with Team Liquid. The team faced off against COOLGUYS in its first series on 1st Dec 2021, and emerged victorious after two effortless wins. Team Liquid’s next series in the league will be against OG on 7th Dec 2021.
