Cover-Credits:
Nigma Galaxy’s debut with its new roster did not go according to plan, with the team losing two consecutive series against HellRaisers and Entity in the tournament. As a result, the team has been eliminated from the BetBoom Xmas Show, finishing in last place. Nigma Galaxy was recently forced to make a roster change during the off-season, as decorated carry player Amer "Miracle-" Al-Barkawi announced that he would be taking a break from the competitive scene to deal with health issues.
In his place, former OG offlaner Ammar "ATF" Al-Assaf was announced as his temporary replacement for the 2022/2023 Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) season.
Nigma Galaxy disappoint in debut appearance
Nigma Galaxy recently made its new roster debut at the BetBoom Xmas Show as they were invited by tournament organizers FISSURE to be a part of the playoffs stage. However, its debut appearance would turn out to be a disaster in short notice.
Nigma Galaxy vs Hellraisers - Upper Bracket
Game One saw Nigma Galaxy facing off against Hellraisers, however things didn't work out as planned as the team were being dominated by the combo of Gleb "depressed kid" Zyryanov’s Outworld Destroyer and Nikita "Daxak" Kuzmin’s Nature Prophet. While Nigma tried to find a way back into the game, they were forced to concede after only 34 minutes.
Game Two saw a slightly better performance by Nigma Galaxy, as they had a decent early game lead. However, the game ended up being a repeat of Game One as Hellraisers managed to gain late game advantage by constantly picking off Nigma’s heroes. Hellraisers ended up claiming the series 2-0 after 40 minutes, dropping Nigma Galaxy into the Lower Bracket.
Nigma Galaxy vs Entity - Lower Bracket
Game One saw Nigma Galaxy’s Syed "SumaiL" Hassan dominating the game with his signature Leshrac against Entity. While Entity tried to delay the game long enough for its late game advantage, Nigma would end up claiming the first game after 28 minutes.
Game Two was an even match between both teams, as Nigma’s draft was mostly unchanged while Entity opted for a different draft. While the game was even for the first 25 minutes, Entity managed to gain advantage following a favorable teamfight in the late game. Entity ended up securing Game Two after 41 minutes.
Game Three of the series was mostly one-sided as Entity did not allow its early game advantage to go to waste as Alimzhan "watson" Islambekov’s Templar Assassin led the charge. While Nigma Galaxy did manage to stall the game long enough for both ATF & SumaiL to achieve their mid-game potential, Entity ended up defeating them after 35 minutes.
Following its disappointing debut, Nigma Galaxy were officially eliminated from the tournament. However, with the DPC Western European (WEU) 2023 Tour 1: Division I set to begin in two weeks’ time, can Nigma Galaxy redeem itself in what could arguably be the most stacked region yet?
