Team Yandex will be one of the teams at the BLAST Slam VI Playoffs, but it won’t be able to rely on its full roster. The team won’t be able to play with Evgeniy “Noticed” Ignatenko, so Abdimalik “Malik” Sailau will be a stand-in. The news broke on Reddit, and it seems like Noticed was unable to secure his visa on time and will miss the Playoffs in Malta.
Malik to Stand-in at BLAST Slam VI Playoffs
The Kazakhstani offlaner is not a new name in the professional Dota 2 scene. He played for several big teams over the last couple of years, including PSG Quest, where he spent about 1 year. He was also briefly involved with Team Spirit in late 2024 and also helped L1GA TEAM. Sadly, Malik was unable to achieve much success with these teams and has been trying to find a new home since then.
Even though no one questions Malik’s prowess, people wonder whether he will be able to replicate Noticed’s amazing results so far. It’s safe to say the offlaner was among the big reasons why Yandex reached the Playoffs.
Can Team Yandex Win BLAST Slam VI?
Despite the unfortunate situation with Noticed, Malik is probably one of the best offlaners that you can have as a stand-in. In fact, we believe this does not change anything in terms of Team Yandex’s chances of winning.
Looking back, we can see that the squad had a solid reputation prior to this event. Even though Yandex has had some issues so far, the team’s most recent clash against Team Spirit was really impressive and sent a signal to the rest.
The Playoffs will begin in just two days from now and we will see Yandex go up against Natus Vincere, OG, Team Falcons, Team Liquid, and HEROIC.
All eyes will be on Yandex and Malik’s performance, so make sure you don’t miss any of the upcoming matches.
