Amer “Miracle-” Al-Barkawi and Nigma Galaxy, name a more iconic duo. The founding member of Nigma Galaxy and a core part of the original lineup returns to help his struggling mates.
Miracle-‘s return marks an important chapter in Nigma’s upcoming Dota Pro Circuit 2023 (DPC 2023), but it might just be too late for the former champions.
Source: DreamHack
Miracle-‘s Hiatus
For the uninitiated, Miracle- has been inactive since December 2022, skipping a large chapter of Nigma’s DPC 2023 journey. Nevertheless, he was responsible for earning Nigma a Division 1 slot before he went on a hiatus to deal with health issues.
Since his absence, Nigma fans watched the powerhouse sink lower until they finally land in Division 2 bracket once more. DPC 2023 Tour 1 Western Europe concluded with Nigma barely avoiding demotion at sixth place. The second Tour was the nail in the coffin that ultimately saw Nigma unfit among other WEU rivals.
After all, competition has grown evermore fierce, such that there’s already an established trio (Gaimin Gladiators, Team Liquid, and Tundra Esports) monopolizing the top seeds. Leaving one remaining slot for other decent teams, such as Team OG and Ooredoo Thunders to compete.
Nigma’s place in DPC 2023
Nigma’s hot losing spree in the recent Tour 2 is a telltale sign that they need a bigger reform than just switching out pos1 players every season. They are old horses, which just can’t be taught new tricks anymore, and perhaps there should be talks about passing the torch to younger players instead.
Miracle- stands-in for Nigma at DreamLeague S19
Not to be confused with Miracle-‘s role, Syed “SumaiL” Hassan is the current pos2 player or mid-player. So, Miracle- is returning to replace Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf temporarily for the DreamLeague S19. That said, considering how poorly Nigma has been, fans are looking forward to ATF and SumaiL’s departure soon.
Despite the unfortunate performance in DPC 2023, SumaiL is still a phenomenal player, whose gameplay proves that he’s still eyeing the International Championship. Bragging rights aside, money is still his motivation to compete and play in a more relevant team.
But this is Nigma we are talking about, which based on historical roster decisions, they will keep four founding players. It occurred when they kicked Lasse “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen merely months before the International 9. Followed by Aliwi “w33” Omar then Igor “iLTW” Filatov.
Nigma without SumaiL & ATF
The ship has sunk for Nigma as the last Tour in Division 2 is obsolete in terms of qualifying TI12. At best, Nigma can consider attempting the TI12 regional qualifier, but even then, fans are skeptical about Nigma’s capabilities.
Instead, SumaiL’s future whereabouts in DPC 2023 are a more relevant topic for discussion. Besides the Division 1 teams that might be looking for a new mid-player, such as Entity and Ooredoo Thunders. The upcoming winners of Division 2 Tour 2 could also be potential teams for SumaiL.
Regardless, one thing’s for certain, SumaiL cannot remain in Nigma if he intends on not missing TI for the second consecutive year.
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