Just moments ago, Team Liquid announced that Michael 'ixmike88' Ghannam will be going inactive although he will still remain with organization to do some Dota 2 related activities.
This news does not come as too much of a surprise considering ixmike88 told his stream viewers that he will be going inactive. In ixmike88's official statement, he stated he has lost motivation to continue playing competitive Dota 2 and over the past few months, he treated the games more as a chore than anything.
"There was a feeling in our group that their goals for 2014 would be better achieved with another player in place of Mike. FLUFF, TC, and ixmike88 go back a long time, and this was by no means an easy decision for anyone to make," said Nazgul, one of the owners of Team Liquid, about the roster change. "What made it even harder was that it was a great year where we had a lot of success with Mike. He was always crucial in keeping team morale up when things got difficult, and put smiles on everyone's face when they needed it most".
Now that ixmike88 is gone, Team Liquid will have to hastily look for a replacement before their first official match begins on the 25th of September. Besides that, while unofficial, Liquid's solo mid player Steven 'Korok' Ashworth has also been seen playing in official matches for Dignitas recently and many said that he has left his The International 3 team. Former Mousesports player, Max 'qojqva' Broecker is highly speculated to be joining the team.
"I don’t know where I want to go regarding Dota, but I plan to take this time to reevaluate my situation and perhaps find my inspiration again," ixmike88 wrote regarding his future in the industry.
Liquid team roster:
Brian 'FLUFFNSTUFF' Lee
Sam 'Bulba' Sosale
Steven 'Korok' Ashworth
Tyler 'TC' Cook
Michael 'ixmike88' Ghannam (inactive)
Source: Team Liquid
