Team Empire and LGD.Forever Young Back Out of Galaxy Battles II

Kiboo

Friday, January 12, 2018
11:00 am

| DOTA 2

Empire cites health concerns as reason for the withdrawal

Galaxy Battles II: Emerging Worlds is set to begin on January 15, 2018. The event organizers announced that the tournament will continue as planned despite the Valve’s decision to rescind their Major status.

Multiple teams have already announced their decision to withdraw. Team Empire and LGD.Forever Young are the latest teams to withdraw from the tournament.

Lost Empire

“Initially we planned to visit Galaxy Battles II even despite losing the status of Major, but appreciating the circumstances it was decided not to participate in this tournament.” Aleksandr “StrangeR” Solomonov, Sports Director of Team Empire, said. “Health is most important – the flight and the change of time zones can aggravate the condition of sick players. We will spend our free time on restoration and preparation for future tournaments and qualifications”.

Team Empire’s management chose to prioritize the safety or their players’ health in lieu of participating in Galaxy Battles. The team intends to use their free time to focus on preparing for future tournaments and qualifications.

Team Empire’s announcement to withdraw followed an official post on the Galaxy Battles Facebook page that the Russia-based team will still compete in the de-Majored tournament.

LFY Backs Out of Galaxy Battles

LFY made an official announcement on Weibo that they have decided to not attend Galaxy Battles.

The team management stressed that LFY’s current DPC standing did not meet their organization’s goal for the season. LGD.Forever Young have chosen to prioritize official Valve events in order to reach their DPC points goal.

LFY is currently participating in the China qualifier for the ESL One Katowice Major and the SLi League Invitational Season 4 Minor.

The withdrawal of Team Empire and LGD.Forever Young brings the total count of teams that backed out from Galaxy Battles II up to nine. The de-Majored tournament is set to take place from January 15-21, 2018 at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan, Philippines.