South Africans set to leave Denial and join ATK
Having been on Denial for less than three months, the South African squad are set to move to another new home shortly.
The team will be joining ATK, an organization more well-known in their home country for running a gaming arena in Cape Town, the largest of the country's capital cities. The organization currently sponsors teams in Overwatch and Sim Racing. Part of the deal will see the team return home to South Africa for a meet & greet on April 6th. Tickets for the event are priced at R200 (~$14) and include a T-shirt and gaming time at the venue.
The South African team entered the North American scene back in January 2018, starting off in ESEA Main for Season 27. They secured promotion in that season, before winning MDL in Season 28. The team's most notable offline result during this time came in the form of a second place finish at DreamHack Open Winter in December last year.
After finishing 5-6th at the Americas Minor, the team moved to Denial and returned to online competition, alongside finishing in the top 32 at WESG 2018. They have also recently finished 3rd-5th in the ECS Season 7 Pinnacle Cup, and finished ninth in MDL Season 30.
The team have undergone a number of changes since leaving Bravado at the start of the year. When the team joined Denial, previous team captain Dimitri "Detrony" Hadjipaschali elected not to move with the remainder of the team. After utilizing a number of stand-ins, the team picked up Dominic "Domsterr" Sampaio on trial. Not too long after that, Ruan "ELUSIVE" van Wyk announced his retirement, being replaced by South African journeyman Robby "blackpoisoN" da Loca in February.
Robby "blackpoisoN" Da Loca stated through Twitter that the team "were still negotiating with Denial" and were unable to agree to a full agreement on all parts of a contract, whereas ATK offered a deal that was "better suited to [their] needs." Johnny "JT" Theodosiou later confirmed through Twitter that the team are intending on a return to the USA as soon as possible.
ATK's roster will be as follows:
Aran "Sonic" Groesbeek- Johnny "JT" Theodosiou
- Rhys "Fadey" Armstrong
- Dominic "Domsterr" Sampaio
- Robby "blackpoisoN" Da Loca
- Tiaan "T.c" Coertzen (Coach)
ATK are currently competing in the NA Invite division of WINNERS League, and are set to be in action for week three of ECS Season 7, where they'll face INTZ in the first round. The team also retains a spot in MDL Season 31.
