Arteezy had a team for The International 2025, but didn’t play for this reason

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I’ve gotta admit, I wasn’t able to pull off a comeback this time around, but let me tell you about how I breathed new life into the 2011 version of Evil Geniuses!

2025’s International tournament will be missing Artour “Arteezy” Babaev, as he didn’t form a team for the qualifiers this year. The 28-year-old player has been streaming consistently since his retirement from competitive play. His most recent stable team was Shopify Rebellion, one of the few North American Dota 2 organizations still supporting a roster.

With Shopify Rebellion, RTZ aimed to preserve his legacy following a lengthy stint with Evil Geniuses. However, the team didn’t achieve success, leading Arteezy to switch to an inactive status, creating room for the Peruvian carry, Enzo “Timado”.

In the midst of a heated dispute during which Jonas “SabeRLight-” Volek suggested that Arteezy may have been the cause of his own exit from their team, Arteezy chose not to respond and instead focused his efforts on streaming, without yet specifying a return date.

The team Arteezy almost joined for The International 2025 qualifiers

Though his primary activity is streaming Dota 2, it’s clear he hasn’t lost his passion. Interestingly, this full-time streamer was on the verge of coming out of retirement with a powerhouse team featuring current players. In essence, the roster they were planning would have closely resembled the legendary 2011 Evil Geniuses squad.

  • Artour “Arteezy” Babaev – Hard Carry
  • Abed “Abed” Yusop – Midlane
  • Roman “RAMZES666” Kushnarev – Offlane
  • TBD
  • Tal “Fly” Aizik – Hard Support

Abed chose to team up with MOUZ, which Arteezy expressed angrily on his stream, using inappropriate language. He also criticized Fly joining AVULUS, although he was less concerned because Fly hadn’t officially confirmed. RAMZES666, however, hasn’t joined a team yet—he’s been streaming the qualifiers instead.

For Arteezy’s team, there was a genuine chance to secure a spot at The International 2025, potentially bringing an interim end to his retirement. However, the North American region faces challenges as the Closed Qualifiers are dominated by mixed-region groups and rosters filled with lesser-known players.

Just two robust teams, Shopify Rebellion and Wildcard, advanced to the Finals. Arteezy had shared on his livestream that he intended to socialize with his ex-coach, Bulba, upon qualification. However, a surprise occurred: it was Wildcard who clinched the North American TI 2025 qualifiers instead.

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2025-06-16 16:40