Four Angry Men leaves Dota 2, Vici Gaming transfers Eurus

Four Angry Men had a very short stay in Dota 2, but the team it put together will continue on without it.

In a double-whammy of news, Vici Gaming announced that Zhang “Eurus” Chengjun has been officially transferred to the roster of Elephant.4AM. Alongside this, the “4AM” part of the team name will be dropped, with the squad continuing on simply as Elephant. This likely marks the end of 4AM’s time in Dota 2, but keeps one of China’s most promising rosters intact.

With Eurus officially being transferred out of Vici Gaming, the newly minted Elephant team will compete using its full roster:

1. Zhang “Eurus” Chengjun
2. Lu “Somnus丶M” Yao
3. Zhou “Yang” Haiyang
4. Xu “fy” Linsen
5. Ru “RedPanda” Zhihao

Elephant.4AM was a partnership between two entities: Chinese media company and talent agency Elephant, and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds team Four Angry Men. The two entities formed a Chinese all-star roster that included top players from both PSG.LGD and Vici Gaming, and it looked strong in its first competitions.

Earlier this week, the organization came under fire when Vici Gaming announced it was pulling Eurus from Elephant.4AM’s upcoming competitions. This stemmed from claims of unpaid transfer fees that had been promised for Eurus. In response to this claim, both Elephant and Four Angry Men issued statements suggesting that the other company had not lived up to the terms of their partnership.

It seems now that Elephant will take over full control of the team, while 4AM will leave entirely.

Catch up on the 4AM controversies

• Sylar cut after 24 hours
• Team Secret CEO blasts 4AM
• Vici Gaming pulls Eurus, Elephant and 4AM butt heads 

4AM’s run in Dota 2 mired in controversy, criticism

This ends what has been a persistently controversial time in Dota 2 for Four Angry Men. Though 4AM’s entry into the game was highly anticipated due to rumors of forming a supergroup of Chinese talent, things started going sideways on day one with the announcement that Liu “Sylar” Jiajun would be carry for the team. Sylar is a respected veteran, but fans were taken aback that the rest of the rumored roster had been confirmed with the exception of Eurus.

Less than 24 hours later, it was announced that Sylar had been deactivated by the team following the acquisition of Eurus. This left many feeling as though Sylar had been slighted. His current playing status is unknown.

Things went from bad to worse when longtime Vici Gaming coach Bai “rOtK” Fan announced on his personal stream that he would not be joining the Elephant.4AM team. This stemmed from the organization not coming to terms with Vici Gaming on a deal for his transfer.

These various controversies led fans and others in the industry to turn on Elephant.4AM, but the business dispute now being over could allow the team to finally start running more smoothly. If Elephant can avoid further controversy and start stringing together strong performances, these issues will likely be forgotten.