Nigma Galaxy has returned to form and become one of the top teams in Dota 2 esports, but fans might be wondering what happened to Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi.
For two years, Nigma Galaxy was among the best Dota 2 teams in the game. The fan-favorite squad led by KuroKy and his former Team Liquid cohorts maintained a strong presence in the European regional scene and qualified for multiple majors and other larger tournaments. After KuroKy failed to qualify for The International 2021 and the team slowly declined from there, until the wheels fully came off in 2023.
The team struggled to post positive results, even against relatively weak competition. The team shuffled in and out numerous past and present members of its roster, and signed stars like Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf. The only constant through all that was KuroKy. But now he’s gone from the active roster of his longtime team, and Nigma Galaxy seems to be better off for it. So what happened?
NIGMA Galaxy vs BEASTCOAST – GROUP STAGE – ESL ONE BANGKOK 2024 DOTA 2
KuroKy was removed from Nigma Galaxy’s active roster in September 2024.
The organization announced the news quietly, without any kind of grandiose send-off for KuroKy. Instead, the organization simply posted the new roster on X, which was KuroKy-free and instead had Maroun “GH” Merhej listed as the team’s position-five support.
Prior to this, the team had competed without KuroKy at Clavision: Snow Ruyi. This saw the team post its best performance in some time, taking third place at the event.
The new lineup saw fast success in the Middle East and Southwest Asia regional qualifiers. However, it didn’t see any particularly strong results in a LAN setting until ESL One Bangkok 2024.
KuroKy has not officially announced retirement from professional Dota 2 and continued to serve as the team’s coach even after the new roster was announced.
The veteran captain has never been particularly vocal on social media, only occasionally retweeting announcements by his organization or other players from the Dota 2 pro scene. He never stated his plans for the future, nor did Nigma Galaxy offer anything regarding KuroKy’s plans. It wasn’t until PGL Wallachia Season 2 a month later that fans got fans got a clear update on his status with the team.
During the event, KuroKy served as the coach of Nigma Galaxy. This continued on for some time, with KuroKy popping up with the team at events and clearing out of the booth once the action began.
There’s still a great deal of mystery regarding KuroKy’s removal from Nigma Galaxy’s active roster. It’s unknown whether he wanted to step down or if he was forced out of the team. It’s also unclear whether this move is temporary. And if it is temporary, it’s unclear whether he might be might join a new team or if he could return to action with Nigma Galaxy.
Regardless, fans can look forward to KuroKy holding the proverbial clipboard, and the literal notebook, for the time being.
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