1win Team, led by Georgiy “swedenstrong” Zainalabidov, has been eliminated from the Eastern Europe Closed Qualifiers for FISSURE PLAYGROUND Belgrade 2025, following a decisive 0-2 loss to One Move in the lower bracket. This defeat ends their journey, leaving the team without a slot in the tournament's main event.
The qualifiers, held online from December 23–27, feature eight teams competing for a single spot in the main stage of the tournament. While the stakes are high, 1win’s recent performance has drawn sharp criticism from the Dota 2 community, raising questions about the team’s decline.
A Fall from Grace
Prominent caster Rustam "Adekvat" Mavlyutov commented on the team’s poor showing, highlighting the stark contrast between their current struggles and their past successes.
"1win are the first to exit the EEU qualifiers for FISSURE PLAYGROUND. Quite the downgrade—going from a spectacular Tier-1 LAN final against Liquid to failing to clear a single qualifier in this season. And all this within just five months. Not even a midlaner change could save them. It’s puzzling what could’ve caused such a rapid collapse,"
he remarked.
The Debate Over Stability and Roster Changes
The discussion about 1win’s performance ties into a broader critique of team management in Dota 2. Russian esports analyst and former pro player Khaled "sQreen" El-Khabbash voiced his concerns about teams clinging to roster stability at the expense of competitiveness.
"I’m seeing teams like 1win and l1ga, once stable forces last season, getting demolished in qualifiers by ad hoc mixes like Chimeras. It raises the question—what’s the value of their past achievements and so-called stability if a casual mix can take them down effortlessly?
Once again, it proves that advocates for stable rosters often fail by not making the necessary changes when it matters. This leads to severe slumps they can’t recover from because the root cause of the problem wasn’t addressed in time.
Organisations today have far more resources than a decade ago, so I don’t see why they can’t hire competent scouts to ensure timely replacements instead of clinging to outdated ideas of stability while ignoring glaring issues,"
sQreen stated on his Telegram channel.
What Went Wrong for 1win?
The team’s struggles highlight a deeper issue: their inability to adapt to the fast-paced evolution of competitive Dota 2. Despite a roster change in the midlane, 1win hasn’t regained their footing since their stellar performance against Liquid at a Tier-1 LAN just months ago.
The criticism from figures like Adekvat and sQreen underscores a growing consensus: teams must balance stability with adaptability. Failing to address performance issues promptly can leave even the most promising rosters vulnerable to sudden and irreversible declines.