picture source: fc-anji.ru
Earlier today, Russian based FC Anzhi announced the formation of their eSports division for DOTA2. Along with the announcement came their first player: former Na'Vi and CIS legend Alexander 'XBOCT' Dashkevich.
In a move similar to Greek FC Panathinaikos, who also created their own eSports division just this January, FC Anzhi looks to break into the exponentially developing eSports scene. As eSports continues to grow, a number of traditional sports organizations have begun to invest into the scene, forming their own divisions alongside their traditional sports. FC Anzhi join as one of over 20 teams, mainly football clubs, that have also begun to invest in eSports.
For XBOCT, the signing seems to signal his official return to the competitive Dota 2 scene, after a near half-year stint out of it. Alongside the his agreement with FC Anzhi, XBOCT will also be competing in the upcoming Kiev Major Open Qualifiers for the CIS region as a stand in for team BMF. The CIS legend is most know for his time at Na'Vi, team which took the first ever International title in 2011. After a near five year career with the Ukranian organization however, XBOCT left and drifted between a number of teams including Team Spirit and Team Empire.
The other four playersl joining XBOCT however, still remain a mystery and will be announced soon according to FC Anzhi. It will be exciting to see how this new CIS squad turns out, and we also look forward to XBOCT's peformance in the upcoming Kiev Open Qualifiers.
The full announcement by FC Anzhi can be found here. Note that the announcement is in Russian however.
