The incident that sparked this move likely came during game five of HEROIC’s match against beastcoast in the ESL One Bangkok South American qualifier finals.
Brazilian Dota 2 team HEROIC announced on Wednesday (November 20) that they have benched carry player David Nicho “Parker” Flores for “showing a lack of desire to win” in an incident during the grand finals of the South American regional qualifier for ESL One Bangkok 2024 last Monday (November 18).
HEROIC said in a statement that their decision to bench Parker came after “disagreements over the team’s strategy resulted in Parker showing a lack of desire to win which does not align with the professional standard we uphold at HEROIC.”
While HEROIC did not elaborate further on the incident that sparked this decision, it very likely references the later stages of game five of their match against beastcoast in the ESL One Bangkok South American qualifier grand finals.
In the most pivotal moments of the game, both HEROIC and beastcoast expended multiple buybacks as they battled for control over Roshan, which would have decided the outcome of the match. But just as beastcoast attempted to steal Roshan away from HEROIC, Parker on Medusa left the area around the Roshan Pit to attempt a push down beastcoast’s middle lane. As a result, beastcoast claimed the Aegis of the Immortal and took down the HEROIC players that remained, and eventually won the series.
HEROIC said that they are open to discussing Parker’s transfer to other teams and will be competing with Yuma “Yuma” Langlet as a stand-in for Dota 2 BLAST Slam I from November 26 to December 1.
“While we recognize the raw talent and contributions Parker has brought to the team, this pattern of unprofessional behavior, including previous incidents, is something we will not accept,” added HEROIC.
Parker’s benching comes just over a month after HEROIC won PGL Wallachia Season 2, marking the first international tournament won by a South American team in the history of Dota 2. It was notably Parker’s first LAN tournament with HEROIC after joining the team in September, and he performed excellently in his LAN debut especially in the grand finals against Team Falcons.
With that said, this is not the first time that Parker suddenly parted ways with a team due to disagreements over professional standards and commitment. In January 2023, Parker left Infinity of his own volition after he was informed by the team that he will be a substitute. Infinity’s decision to designate Parker as a subsitute was made due to “a lack of commitment to his teammates and staff.”
