Multiple Nigma Galaxy Members Test Positive for COVID-19

Nigma Galaxy Dota 2 players tested positive for the COVID-19 virus ahead of their second series in the Western Europe (WEU) Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) 2021-22 Tour 2: Division 1. A tweet from the organization mentioned that the results of majority on the team, including coach Roman "rmN-" Paley, were positive, with the exception of Maroun "GH" Merhej, whose test results are pending. As a result of multiple members testing positive, Nigma Galaxy stated it would keep the community informed of its future participation in the ongoing Tour 2 of the DPC.

All Nigma Galaxy members except GH test positive for COVID-19

The entire Nigma Galaxy team has been bootcamping for DPC Tour 2. Four of its five players - Ivan Borislavov "MinD_ContRoL" Ivanov, Kuro "KuroKy" Takhasomi, Amer "Miracle" Al-Barkawi, and Igor "iLTW" Filatov - as well as coach rmN- tested positive together.

It is extremely unfortunate as this news arrived just hours before the team's next series against Gladiators on 22nd March. While Nigma Galaxy's participation in this series is uncertain, it wrote, "We will keep you updated on how this affects our WEU DPC season moving forward."

Esports personalities and teams wished the players a speedy recovery, in response to the tweet.

While Nigma Galaxy entered Tour 2 after an impressive performance in Gamers Galaxy 2022, it lost to OG in the first series in Tour 2 in a rather one-sided fashion. While the team's second series against Gladiators will happen later today, its third series will happen on 29th March against Tundra Esports. There is a good chance that the team can continue to play from isolation in all upcoming series unless the players are facing adverse effects from the virus.

Additionally, this is a very important season for Nigma Galaxy since it did not have the best performance in Tour 1, finishing sixth and not earning any DPC points. The WEU region is full of quality teams. With the Nigma Galaxy players infected with the virus, for the team to move into the top four to then earn a spot in the Stockholm Major is going to be quite an arduous task.

This is not the first time Nigma Galaxy has faced problems because of the pandemic. MinD_ContRoL previously contracted COVID-19 in March 2021 and could not compete at the Singapore Major with coach rmN- standing in. In the end, the team had an extremely disappointing showing in the event, finishing last out of the 16 teams.

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