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From their inception after TI9, Team Nigma has been a force to reckon with in the international Dota 2 scene. They are the most viewed team in the whole world in the game, a stat that speaks for itself.
Although Team Nigma failed to qualify to TI10 from the DPC and eventually lost in the Western European open qualifiers, the TI7-winning squad is looking forward to the next season with eyes on the prize, i.e., the Aegis of the Champion.
They recently announced a merger with Galaxy Racer, one of the biggest global esports, lifestyle, and content creation organizations, with roots in MENA (the Middle East and North Africa region). Team Nigma, hailing from MENA as the most prominent competitive gaming team in the region, seems a perfect fit for the merger with Galaxy Racer.
In a conversation with Sportskeeda Esports’ Manodeep Mukherjee, Christopher Timm, one of the co-founders of Team Nigma, talked about this merger, Nigma Galaxy’s vision about the global esports realm, and some Dota 2 tidbits.
Here is an excerpt of the conversation.
Q. To start things off, please tell us a bit about your journey with Team Nigma, from forming after The International 9 to where we are now.
Christopher: I think we didn’t have the easiest start because there are better times to start a new esports organization than right before a global pandemic. Of course, esports was less affected compared to other industries, but in the end, it was and still is an entirely new situation for all of us.
COVID slowed down the whole world, including us, but I think we at Team Nigma did a great job handling everything. Now, we are the first esports team that partnered with a major global airline, and in addition, we signed a deal with twofour54, the Media Zone Authority of Abu Dhabi.
Q. With the merger between Team Nigma and Galaxy Racer taking place, how do you see the future of Nigma Galaxy as a merged entity pan out in the future?
Christopher: We want to become one of the most prominent global players within esports and compete at the top across several titles.
Q. Does the decision to merge with Galaxy Racer have anything to do with Team Nigma’s results in the TI10 open qualifiers?
Christopher: There is no connection between the merger and the results in the TI10 open qualifiers. The conversation with Galaxy Racer about the potential merger started way earlier.
Q. Will we get to see bootcamp and other behind-the-scenes videos from Nigma Galaxy leveraging the existing content creation expertise of Galaxy Racer?
Christopher: Yes, of course, we will use the existing content creation expertise of Galaxy Racer to give our fans more exciting behind-the-scenes material.
Q. With Nigma Galaxy expanding to 12 different esports rosters, which esports games are you eyeing?
Christopher: In general, I’m interested in multiple esports games, but one of our biggest goals is to enter the League of Legends franchise. Besides that, we have an eye on Counter-Strike and several mobile game titles.
Q. According to Esports Chart’s recent stats, Team Nigma was the most-watched team with 182k average viewers among all the Dota 2 teams in DPC 2021. How do you feel about that?
Christopher: The support of our fans is incredible, and it feels incredible. I think the main reason for this is that we don’t have many roster changes. 4 of our players have been competing together for more than four years now, and that’s unique within esports.
Q. Although there’s a dearth of information from Valve about the next DPC after TI10, what is your plan with the Nigma Galaxy Dota 2 roster in the upcoming season?
Christopher: We will focus on becoming the best versions of ourselves. Providing entertaining games and showing beautiful Dota play to the community is something we emphasize upon.
Ultimately, our goal is to claim the Aegis.
Q. Recently, we have seen ILTW playing many mid heroes in the pubs, while Miracle is playing the carry role. Is there a swap of positions in the plans for the Dota 2 roster?
Christopher: I think the guys are just using the off-season to play some other roles.
Q. Attacker has been streaming under Team Nigma’s banner for almost a year now. What’s your plan regarding getting more Dota 2 Twitch streamers on board with Nigma Galaxy?
Christopher: I’m definitely considering getting more Dota 2 streamers on board, but it needs to be a good fit and align with our plans. Maybe there will be a small surprise in the near future.
Q. Any words for Team Nigma and Galaxy Racer fans worldwide?
Christopher: A big thank you to all the fans. Without you, all of this would not have been possible. I hope our Team Nigma fans show our new teams the same support they have shown to our Dota team over all the years. Welcome to our new Galaxy.
