Professional Dota 2 player Vladimir "RodjER" Nikogosyan recently addressed why he didn't continue his career with 9Pandas. He revealed that the team did not extend an invitation to him. RodjER mentioned that he had only recently started to regain his form.
"Firstly, nobody offered me a spot," said Vladimir "RodjER" Nikogosyan. "Secondly, I'm not sure. About two or three months ago, I wouldn't have joined anyway. I only started grinding MMR about a month ago. Before that, I didn't care much—I was just playing Dota and streaming."
Nikogosyan had previously helped 9Pandas as a stand-in twice. He played with them to secure third place at The Bali Major and took second place in the closed qualifiers for ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023, which allowed the team to compete in the main stage of the championship.
Earlier, RodjER shared his dissatisfaction with the format of The International, citing the limited number of matches played on stage in front of the audience as a primary concern.