Team Empire has had a difficult time finding their bearings after 
Gleb 'Funn1k' Lipatnikov was whisked away by Na`Vi, with results after the addition of the legendary Ivan 'Vigoss' Shinkarev falling short of expectations. This has lead the team to take another look at their roster, deciding to almost start from scratch with the removal of team captain Artur 'Goblak' Kostenko as well as Airat 'Silent' Gaziev.
Team Empire at StarLadder Season 3
The departure of Goblak is sure to be a surprise to many, as he has been the architect behind a very unique playstyle for the CIS region, including being the person who brought Clinkz first into
DTS and then to Empire. He also attended The International 2012 along with Darer, with a team which was heavily based on his previous DTS roster. The other player to depart, Silent, also attended The International 2012 with the infamously illfated Moscow 5.Rumours of this change started going around shortly after the dissapointing 4th place finish at StarLadder 5 LAN Finals, but the team still took just over a week to try and look for a way to keep the band together. Ultimately, it might have been issues with finding the right positions for each of the players which played a major part in this change. If this is the case, it may signal a return to middle lane for
Roman 'Scandal' Sadotenkov, while Vigoss may take up a supporting role.The future of Goblak and Silent are as of yet unknown, and as neither player is willing to comment we will refrain from speculations.
Statements by the team
A statement from
Sergey 'Anahronix' Bykovskiy:Artur and Airat quickly became important part of the team and made a big deal evolving it. But, unfortunately, than came that moment, when views on where the team should move in its development parted. Subsequent performance with this roaster was negative and had bad influence on all team. Considering desire of players, managers made a decision about finishing the cooperation. I want to thank guys for a big work that they made and wish them a good luck. It’s time to forget past and move on. We will make a selection and find new players. Team will train hard to please fans with new victories. Support us, we need it as never before.
Statement by
Artur 'Goblak' Kostenko:Playing in this team gave me huge experience. The support of organization was always on a good level. But every team has moments, when it needs changes. For team Empire, this moment is now. I want to say “Thank you” to the organization for its support during all this time. Also I want to thank my teammates for our joint work. Good luck in future!
Team Empire Roster
Vladislav 'blowyourbrain' Morozyuk Roman 'Scandal' Sadotenkov Ivan 'Vigoss' Shinkarev
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