LVLUP – A new Balkan based team

A new Balkan-based team, LVLUP, is making headway into the Dota 2 scene. Founded and coached by known Serbian player Viktor “Buktop” Knežević, the mix of players also features a surprising carry player – Niklas “Wagamama” Högström. Just in their infancy stage, the team is already Ukraine bound for the WESG offline qualifiers, in October.

The new Balkan-based team LVLUP has already begun carving a niche out for themselves in the region and beyond. Only days ago, the team secured their spot in the offline WESG European and CIS qualifiers scheduled to take place between October 6-9th in Kiev, Ukraine.

The mix of players had to use two standins for their team during their big debut due to the nationality requirement for the Adriatic qualifier. The adjustment didn’t seem to stop the team from barreling through the qualifiers, taking out Elements Pro Gaming, 2:0, in the grand finals.

Their success grants them entry into the offline qualifiers along with 19 other teams – competing for one of eight spots to head to the LAN finals in China, in December, and a piece of the $1.5 million prize pool.

Buktop told DotaBlast that while he played in the WESG qualifiers and will continue to do so in the Ukraine, he will not be playing as part of the main roster for the team throughout the regular season. Instead, he’ll be working behind the scenes as the coach, playing 3v3 for practice and helping out the team to grow and develop.

Four months ago, I started building a team of people as a rising team in Dota 2. I wanted five players with the will to succeed, enough skill, and without the ego. We are ready to lock in for the Fall Major season and, as I have been building the team for some time, I think I have chosen wisely.

Niklas “Wagamama” Högström is still on a trial basis, but the group has already been practicing hard in scrims together. Teams have until September 18th 12:00AM PDT to lock in their rosters for the Fall Major 2016 season.

Besides their plans to travel to the Ukraine for WESG, LVLUP plans to also compete in the upcoming tournaments including Join Dota League, StarLadder and the ESL leagues – aiming for the Fall Major 2016.

The group has high hopes and even bigger plans for the future – eventually expanding into a full organization complete with a full set of ancillary staff for operations.

We will add Heroes of the Storm (HoTS) and Hearthstone next – and see about LOL in the near future. Since I played LOL competitively and HoTS until rank 1, these games are familiar to me.

LVLUP roster:

Niklas “Wagamama” Högström (Tryout)
Konstantin “Kole” Atanasovski
Stefan “pwN” Pavlović
Dino “Dnz” Šavuk
Saša “Emperor” Bajrić
Viktor “Buktop” Knežević (Coach)

Featured image courtesy of Nina Miljuš