Team Yandex has signed Ammar "ATF" Al-Assaf as their new offlaner and placed Dmitry "DM" Dorokhin on the inactive roster. The signing is more than a single substitution – it gives the team two The International winners in the same lineup, as ATF (TI 2025) now joins support Martin "Saksa" Sazdov (TI 2022). The question is whether individually decorated experience automatically translates into collective strength.
That is far from guaranteed. ATF is an offensive position 3 player who consistently prioritises farm and can match his carry's networth – or even surpass it. This creates a potential friction with carry Alimzhan "watson" Islambekov, who is best served with space and resources to scale into the late game. Two farm-oriented cores in the same lineup require midlaner Ilya "CHIRA_JUNIOR" Chirtsov and the rest of the team to actively create space and tempo, so both cores can reach their power spikes without competing for the same resources.
The sporting gain is nonetheless real. Team Yandex finished in third place at TI 2026 and won three Tier 1 tournaments during the preceding season – a solid foundation. ATF adds an offlaner profile the team has not previously had access to, and his ability to switch between an aggressive and resource-heavy style gives CHIRA_JUNIOR and Saksa tactical flexibility.
The team will debut the new lineup at PGL Wallachia Season 9, which begins on 19 September, with an opening group stage match against MOUZ. The timeframe is tight: chemistry must be built under tournament pressure, not in calm testing conditions. That is precisely where the real test lies – not whether ATF and Saksa together possess enough TI experience, but whether Team Yandex can quickly enough coordinate two strong individual profiles into a cohesive team strategy.