IKEA instructed to change name coming into Kiev Major EU regional qualifiers – Now 4 protect five

IKEA has been instructed by Valve to change their name as they come into the Kiev Major EU regional qualifiers. The team had used the name and logo of the popular Swedish store without any problems since September 2016. Prompted by the manager Jonas “Mavav” Öberg, the team decided to check first to avoid any distractions before their big matches. 4 protect five will kick off their run at 10:00 CET Friday, March 10th verse Cloud 9.

The full Swedish team – IKEA has been instructed by Valve to change their name before the Kiev Major EU regional qualifiers begin.

The discussion was prompted by manager Jonas “Mavav” Öberg – who told Dotablast it was in an effort to ensure that no last minute distractions or surprises would emerge before their big match.

I know that the name and logo is toeing the line of originality and for example the logo does not meet the treshold of originality needed for copyright protection according to wikimedia. Trademark though is a whole other question.

This is the first time that a team has had to change their name in order to compete on a large scale.

While it falls on the heels of the firestorm discussion brought about by Tal “Fly” Aizik in regards to the racist team name seen in the open qualifiers – it is not related. Team names in events such as the open qualifiers are the responsibility of FACEIT or the hosting organizer. Valve would only be looped in once it reached their realm – such as the regional qualifiers.

The team originally chose the name in September 2016 when they registered for the Fall Major in Boston.

We were a team of five swedes, and what is more Swedish then IKEA

The squad had fun choosing various acronyms for the name, which is one area that will be missed by fans.

The Swedish based team has had a strong presence in the minor tournaments in the region – playing in multiple iterations of PDCup and D2CL.

After invites were sent and announced, the team swapped out their carry player Dennis “Flens” Brofalk for Stoyan “SlashStrike” Kralchev from Bulgaria – no longer being a full Swedish lineup.

4 protect five – a clever name as a play on a 5 man team and their player Five – earned their way into the Kiev Major EU regional qualifiers by way of the Champions Cup match that took place March 6th.

4 protect five roster

Stoyan “SlashStrike” Kralchev
Adam “Five” Grönberg
Alexander “Etakaka” Lindström
Staffan “Steffstyle” Solin
Josef “Dancing Dragon” Bernhardsson