Dota 2 offlaner star from Jordan, Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf, has split with Quest Esports due to a dispute over a contract related to the extension of his loan from Nigma Galaxy.
Quest publicized the exit of ATF with a post on their official Twitter account on Saturday (15 July).
Shortly after the announcement by Quest, ATF clarified in a post on his Twitter that his decision to leave Quest was due to the organization’s refusal to prolong his loan from Nigma Galaxy. They proposed a contract that he disagreed with.
He tweeted, “My loan ended after the [Bali Major] and Quest org [didn’t] want to extend the loan for [their] own reasons, they offered me a contract that I don’t agree on and they said I have to choose—either sign the contract or they will get a stand-in.”
ATF declined henceforth to sign the contract. “The only disappointing part about is that even though I had played with them for the MENA qualifier, they decided to get a stand-in rather than extending the loan or choosing me as the stand-in for Riyadh Masters. Good luck to all the players,” as per ATF’s post.
ATF also cleared the fact that Nigma Galaxy had tried to negotiate an extended loan or buyout to Quest, but the contract that Quest proposed was “unacceptable” for him.
Quest expressed their gratitude to ATF for his contribution to the team’s growth and announced that they would participate in the forthcoming Riyadh Masters with a new offlaner.
“We extend our gratitude to Ammar for his invaluable contribution to the team’s development. Despite our best efforts, we were unable to resolve the negotiation challenges,” commented Quest.
ATF Departure from Quest after Bali Major’s Top 4 Conclusion
ATF had joined Quest back in May as a loan from Nigma Galaxy. With ATF, Quest managed to secure the third position in the 2023 Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) season’s Summer Tour regional league and concluded at fourth place at the Bali Major, concluded recently.
ATF also contributed to the team’s qualification for Riyadh Masters 2023 via the tournament’s MENA qualifier.
Prior to this loan to Quest, ATF’s stint with Nigma Galaxy saw them finishing sixth and eighth in this season’s Winter and Spring Tour regional leagues for Western Europe, respectively.
ATF, before he set out on his professional journey, was a well-known offlaner for tier 2 teams like Creepwave and Chicken Fighters for his offbeat playing style. He came into the spotlight during the 2021-2022 DPC season as a part of OG’s newly formed ‘young blood’ squad. His strategic contributions led OG to triumph at the ESL One Stockholm Major and ESL One Malaysia 2022.
ATF left OG in November that year post a disappointing 7th-8th place finish at The International (TI) 2022 in Singapore, and soon joined Nigma Galaxy.
Given ATF’s split from Quest, he’s now in the inactive roster of Nigma Galaxy. Whether Nigma Galaxy would agree to take ATF back in the active lineup or help him find a new team, remains unknown.
Nonetheless, ATF could possibly be a top pick for the upcoming regional qualifiers for TI 2023 in August.
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