Two months after TI4, Team Liquid announces the departure of both Bulba and Qojqva. The two of them have found a new home in Team Tinker, whereas Team Liquid leave their future in the Dota 2 scene uncertain, leaving also TC's future out in the open.
Following the departure of DeMoN and Wayto, Sam 'Bulba' Sosale and Max 'Qojqva' Bröcker announce their departure from Team Liquid. Although it was expected for the North-American organization to undergo changes, a full release of their roster was not expected. In fact, many speculated that the organization would pick up Team Tinker since both Qojqva and Bulba have been playing for that team. These rumors have now been shattered as both players have been released and TL has stated that they do not have any plans on acquiring a new team anytime soon.
Excerpt from Bulba's statement on TeamLiquidPro.com:
"[...] I've decided to leave Liquid because I think its time for change. I had a lot of fun and made a lot of memories and friends within the organization.[...]"
Interestingly though, Liquid's Nazgul mentions that the reason for the two of them leaving Liquid is the fact that they will be part of a new organization soon, meaning that it is likely that Team Tinker will soon have a sponsor.
"[...] However, the reality is that after a rough year, they have asked to be released through a buyout with another organisation. The organization wishes to remain unknown for now and I respect their request. [...]"
Liquid's Nazgul on their Dota 2 squad's future:
"[...] As far as Liquid's future is concerned, we are going to have to do without a Dota 2 team in the foreseeable future. I absolutely want to be a part of the Dota scene with a professional team, but it has to be with a team that makes sense. While I'm disappointed things haven't worked out, it would be unwise to rush our decisions.[...]"
This also leaves open the future of carry player Tyler 'TC' Cook, who'se departure has not been made official yet. However, much like Bulba and Qojqva, TC has also been playing with a new team. He's been acting as a stand-in for SneakyNyxAssassins, a team consisting of his former teammates Brian 'Fluffnstuff' Lee and Michael 'ixmike88' Grannham.
While Qojqva has been with TL for only a year, Bulba has been part part of the North-American organization since the end of 2012. Following a disappointing TI2 performance with Evil Geniuses, Bulba joined former compLexitry players Fluffnstuff, ixmike and TC. Together with former Quantic Gaming player Korok, the team managed to qualify for TI3 and placed top 8 in the tournament, eliminating LGD-Gaming in the Lower Bracket. After TI3, the team reformed and added Dignitas' Peter 'Wayto' Nguyen and Mousesports' Qojqva. The team had ups and downs and eventually Fluffnstuff was kicked off the team, weeks after publicly voicing concerns regarding his team. Jimmy 'DeMoN' Ho was his replacement, but the team showed no improvement whatsoever.
Surprisingly enough, Team Liquid managed to advance from the groupstages of TI4, but was eliminated in a grudge match against LGD. Regardless of a surprisingly good finish, it was only a matter of time until the team would reform.
Source: TeamLiquidpro.com