Fashion or function? ATF may still be struggling from a Dota 2-related injury

Nigma Galaxy’s Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf has been spotted wearing a glove during a recent match versus Team Liquid.

ATF reportedly suffered a hand injury in Nov. 2022 but has continued to compete in the 2023 Dota Pro Circuit season since then. When the injury first surfaced, the former offlaner took a light break from Dota 2, only playing bot matches until he healed fully.

Though ATF didn’t release any further updates regarding his hand injury, the fact that he was back to play in the regular season served as a confirmation of his recovery until now. Unless the glove is a fashion choice, ATF could still be dealing with a prolonged hand injury.

Doctors can sometimes recommend gloves for such injuries to maintain good hand posture. Hand and arm-related injuries are a cruel part of esports and also most desk jobs.

In 2014, EG’s Clinton “Fear” Loomis had to sit out The International 2014 due to a tennis elbow. The veteran would return to win TI5 in the next year, but this story may not end the same for ATF as Nigma is battling with relegation.

Despite returning to division one of Western European DPC, Nigma hasn’t been able to impress the fans, as they’re currently sitting at the bottom of the table without a single series win. Performing worse than the newcomers Ooredoo Thunders and Monaspa is definitely not a good look for Kuro “KuroKy” Takhasomi’s faithful, and the roster only has four matches left in the season to avoid relegation.