Team Liquid adds zai to Dota 2 roster

The post-The International 10 reshuffle in Europe has been kickstarted with an unexpected blockbuster trade and a serious statement of intent from one of Dota 2’s most storied organizations.

Team Liquid is bolstering its roster with some firepower ahead of the upcoming Dota Pro Circuit season, adding zai from regional rival Team Secret. With Europe already known as one of the most competitive regions, Liquid’s new player might trigger an immense arms race between its top teams.

Zai, who had multiple stints with Evil Geniuses and Secret, is trying something new. The off laner’s last stint with Secret lasted three years and featured some impressive championships, as well as fourth and third-place finishes at TI9 and TI10, respectively.

With zai’s addition, Liquid has yet to announce any departures from the squad. Should a one-for-one replacement take place, Boxi’s spot on Liquid might be in jeopardy.

Regardless of who makes space of zai, this will likely spell an end to the impressively long-lived five-man squad led by iNSaNiA. Four of the five Liquid members have been playing together since November 2017 when they joined Alliance, with qojqva joining later in June 2018. The whole team moved to Liquid in October 2019.

While the roster has at times looked capable of breaking into the top echelon of European Dota, the team’s most recent disappointment was the failure to qualify for TI10 in a stacked last-chance qualifier, which also saw teams like KuroKy’s Nigma and Fata’s Tundra Esports miss out.