Arteezy has stepped down from Shopify Rebellion’s active Dota 2 roster after being part of the North American squad since its inception in 2016 under Evil Geniuses. Now, streaming and a European move are in the cards for the Canadian superstar.
Arteezy posted on X about his Shopify Rebellion departure hours after the org’s roster reveal for Elite League Season Two. “On a personal note, competing in Dota without some of my closest friends and former teammates has made me consider taking a break,” he wrote. “In the short-term, I plan to stick around by streaming on Twitch, playing Dota, and remaining actively engaged in both the Dota community and with Shopify.”
With the changing landscape of competitive Dota 2, several NA pros like Quinn and Sneyking have made the cross-Atlantic move in recent years—and with great success. Now, Arteezy seemingly wants to follow suit.
“I’ve been considering moving to Europe to be able to continue improving and participate in competitive Dota again,” Arteezy explained in the same post. If he does, it won’t be the first time fans would have seen him in a European squad—veteran Dota 2 viewers would remember the TI5 Team Secret days, albeit mostly for the memes.
Alongside his musings on his future, Arteezy took the brunt of the responsibility for Shopify Rebellion’s lackluster performance. He pointed to Shopify Rebellion giving him full reign of the new roster after TI 2023 and admitted he struggled to prepare for the challenges that came with the leadership. As a result, his efforts within the team “progressively diminished,” and in a way that brought about “the team’s decline and eventual demise.”
While Arteezy’s choice of words might sound hyperbolic, Shopify Rebellion indeed had its worst year by far. The team failed to qualify for the The International 2024 and the now-concluded Riyadh Masters—the biggest tournaments in this year’s Dota 2 calendar.
As for Shopify Rebellion, Peruvian carry player Pakazs has also replaced Arteezy in the active roster, while SabeRLight is back in the offlane role replacing MinD_ContRoL. The rest of the squad is the same as in its last appearance in DreamLeague Season 22 with Yopaj in mid, Kitrak in position four, skem in five, and BuLba as coach.
