J.Storm seemingly loses Dota 2 team, possibly dissolving

Steven Rondina Published 07/02/2020

The J.Storm esports organization seems to be done with Dota 2, and it might be shuttering entirely.

An eagle-eyed Redditor spotted that the team currently has zero players attached to its roster on the official Dota 2 major registration page. The team previously attached to it, headed by veteran Clinton “Fear” Loomis, is currently operating under the handle of “business associates.”

Neither the players nor the team have acknowledged any sort of split on social media. This follows J.Storm’s release of Fortnite players Tylar “Tylarzz” Sherwood and James “Painful” Garrod.

J.Storm’s roster at its last Dota 2 event included the following players:

David “Moo” Hull
Leon “Nine” Kirilin
Braxton “Brax” Paulson
Joel Mori “MoOz” Ozambela
Clinton “Fear” Loomis

J.Storm roster still heading into ESL One Los Angeles Major qualifiers

J.Storm was founded in 2018 by former New York Knick basketball player Jeremy Lin. Lin is an avid Dota 2 fan and was previously featured in Valve’s first Dota 2 film, Free to Play.

Lin initially entered the Dota 2 esports scene in a collaboration with Chinese organization Vici Gaming. The two partnered to create a secondary brand to Vici Gaming, entitled VGJ. VGJ featured two teams, with a Chinese division named VGJ.Thunder and a North American division named VGJ.Storm. VGJ.Storm enjoyed a fair degree of success in its lone season, most notably placing second at the MDL Changsha Major and top-eight at The International 2018.

New regulations from Valve prevented Vici Gaming and other organizations from having a financial stake in multiple teams competing in official events. This saw Vici Gaming shuffle together players from its primary roster and VGJ.Thunder, and release the entirety of VGJ.Storm. VGJ.Storm would largely remain intact, eventually signing with Forward Gaming.

Lin was still committed to competing in Dota 2 however and signed a sponsorless North American squad led by former MVP Phoenix captain Park “March” Tae-won in 2018.

The possible release of the team actually comes after the team’s best showing to date. The team placed top-six at the MDL Chengdu Major and currently ranks in eighth place in the Dota Pro Circuit standings.

Regardless of whether the team remains sponsored, Fear and company are likely to stick together for a while longer. The team is set to return to action in the qualifiers for the ESL One Los Angeles Major, an event they have a strong chance of qualifying for.

Steven Rondina

About Steven Rondina

Steven Rondina is a true lifelong gamer. His earliest memories are of playing video games, and he has continued playing them throughout his life with no plans to stop any time soon. Steven’s favorite franchises in gaming include Pokemon, Dark Souls, and Counter-Strike. He has previously published with Bleacher Report and other gaming outlets.

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