Transfers of players from one team to another are an essential part of esports. The professional scene gets especially hot during the reshuffles because just one successful transfer can dramatically change the team's position in the world rankings. What transfers turned out to be the most effective? The answers to this question are always very subjective, and here we highlight the most successful transfers that in our opinion happened in 2023.
FelipoX and nade to w7m esports (Rainbow Six Siege)
w7m esports with BLAST R6 Major Atlanta 2023 trophy / Source
The Brazilian organization w7m esports is well known in the professional Rainbow Six Siege scene. It had a busy 2022 season, culminating in second place at the Six Invitational 2023. After the tournament, Julio and volpz left the team, and FelipoX from MIBR and nade from Black Dragons took their places. Against fans' fears, w7m esports' results got even better after the reshuffles.
In 2023, w7m esports had a great season as FelipoX and nade helped the new team win both BLAST R6 Major Copenhagen 2023 and BLAST R6 Major Atlanta 2023. The newcomers also showed good results during the two Brazil League 2023 splits, where they won several MVP awards. The team also made it to the semifinals of Gamers8 2023, but failed to defeat M80 there. Without a doubt, the current season is the best in the history of w7m esports. The team takes first place in Global Points Standings, with a big gap ahead of all other teams. Let's see if the Brazilians can consolidate their success at the Six Invitational 2024, which will be held from February 13 to 25 in their hometown of Sao Paulo.
Demon1 to Evil Geniuses (Valorant)
Demon1 at VALORANT Champions 2023 / Source
Evil Geniuses pulled a lucky ticket when they signed Demon1 to Valorant roster in January 2023. The American player didn't get to play at VCT 2023: LOCK//IN São Paulo as he was a substitute, but he showed his potential at VCT 2023: Americas League. Evil Geniuses took third place in the local affiliate league, and reached the final of VCT 2023: Masters Tokyo.
Demon1 showed his peak form at the VALORANT Champions 2023, the $2.25 million tournament of the season. Evil Geniuses performed brilliantly in the Group Stage and defeated EDward Gaming, DRX, LOUD, and Paper Rex on the way to the championship cup in the Playoffs. As for Demon1, he became the MVP of the World Championship with the highest individual score (1.23), the highest KD (1.39) and the highest headshot percentage (40%). The main recognition of Demon1's achievements this year was the prestigious Esports Awards 2023, where he won the Esports Breakthrough Player of the Year 2023.
EliGE to Complexity Gaming (Counter-Strike)
EliGE / Photo by Adam Lakomy via ESL Gaming / Source
American player EliGE became the one who breathed new life into Complexity Gaming's Counter-Strike roster this year. EliGE spent most of his professional career with Team Liquid: he was a member of Liquid for five consecutive years (from 2017 to 2021) and was regularly ranked among the Top 20 best players in the world by HLTV.org. When EliGE left the team, some could have thought that his career was already heading toward decline. As time has shown, such conclusions were premature.
EliGE not only fit in well with the new team but also helped the team perform strongly in the second half of the year. A win at BLAST Premier: Fall American Showdown 2023, where Complexity Gaming defeated Team Liquid in the finals, is one of the highlights of the year. The new EliGE team also reached the final of Intel Extreme Masters Sydney 2023 and took third place at the BLAST Premier: Fall Final 2023 — both times Complexity was defeated by FaZe Clan, which was in its ultimate form at the time.
Of course, EliGE's transfer didn't solve all Complexity's problems — the team still slumped in some tournaments. However, before the new player's transfer, Complexity placed 23rd in the HLTV.org world ranking, and the team made its way to the Top 5 in six months together with EliGE. The fifth position is the best result in Complexity's history overall. The last time the organization ranked this high was in September 2020.
Weiwei to Weibo Gaming (League of Legends)
Weiwei / Photo: Riot Games / Source
The Chinese team Weibo Gaming made one of the most successful transfers of League of Legends in 2023, when it signed jungler Weiwei, just before the summer split. The player previously played for Bilibili Gaming but left the club as a free agent in December 2022. For several months, Weiwei was a free agent and even missed the spring split of LPL: he only joined Weibo Gaming at the end of May.
Weibo Gaming didn't have much to show on the international stage before this season. The team performed well in its home league, the LPL, but never climbed higher than 5th-6th place in the regular season. In 2023, Weibo Gaming barely made it to the LPL Regional Finals 2023, advancing from sixth place in the overall standings, but it was in this tournament that Weiwei showed 100% of his potential. He was named MVP three times in the Regional Finals, and it was largely thanks to his efforts that the team made it to the World Championship.
Weibo Gaming's path to the 2023 World Championship was not easy, but the team managed to reach the finals, defeating many famous rivals along the way. Interestingly, in the semifinal match, Weiwei defeated his former team, Bilibili Gaming. Unfortunately, Weibo did not manage to cope with the superboss T1 in the Grand Final, but the team will take this season to its credit.
Somnus to Azure Ray (Dota 2)
Somnus (right) / Source
It was quite difficult to select the most successful transfer in Dota 2. Larl and Team Spirit, which won The International 2023, Riyadh Masters 2023, and several other major tournaments, immediately came to mind. The thing is, however, that Larl started playing for Team Spirit back in late 2022, so he's not really a candidate for this ranking (which doesn't diminish his accomplishments in any way). Instead, let's turn our attention to China.
To understand the whole situation here, it's important to dive into the context of the season and recall that 2023 as a whole was a very difficult year for the Chinese professional Dota 2 scene. After several high-profile matchmaking scandals, it was virtually drained of players: dozens of young e-athletes were permanently banned from Valve tournaments, some organizations left the discipline, and star "old guys" decided to finally reclassify themselves as streamers. Amidst all this, the remaining Chinese teams showed poor performance at the DPC majors. They did not rise above 7-8th place in Lima and Berlin, and they managed to get into the Top 5 only in Bali. These are extremely poor results for what was once the strongest region in Dota 2.
Azure Ray's new roster appeared at a very difficult time for the Chinese scene, and it is especially worth mentioning its mid-laner Somnus. This renowned player, who has almost a decade of world-class play experience, was one of those who put his esports mouse away at the beginning of the year and started streaming. He missed the first two splits of DPC 2023, and it was only toward the end of the season that he and his friends decided to try their luck on the professional scene again. Azure Ray didn't have a chance to make it to The International 2023 directly, but still managed to make it to the World Championship through qualifiers.
Only two teams from China made it to The International 2023, although 4-5 representatives of this region have played at the previous championships. Azure Ray got into a difficult group, but still managed to get to th Playoffs. In the end, the team finished in the Top-4 rankings, losing only to fellow countrymen from LGD Gaming and European team Gaimin Gladiators. Azure Ray almost got their Cinderella story — the newly appeared underdog team unexpectedly made its way to the World Championship and managed to beat many top teams there. The fact that Somnus and some of his teammates missed most of the season makes this story even more interesting.
After The International 2023, the Azure Ray roster underwent serious changes — three players left the team, including Somnus, who decided to start streaming again. After the tournament, he repeatedly told his audience that he was going to retire: however, the story of Azure Ray showed that the legendary player still has his skills.
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