ATF’s Fiery Antics Take Center Stage at DreamLeague Season 24

Background

Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf is back in the news for more than just his performance at DreamLeague Season 24. The Team Falcons offlaner has once more garnered attention for his in-game banter and trash-talk, reclaiming the brash, aggressive attitude he had in the past. And this time his opponent was none other than BetBoom Team’s Gleb ‘kiyotaka’ Zyryanov.

ATF has always been a rather controversial figure within the Dota 2 community, and it appears that he is not one to avoid creating rivalries – even if they are of the provocative nature.

What Went Down Between ATF and Kiyotaka at DreamLeague?

In DreamLeague Season 24, ATF escalated his trash talk, telling kiyotaka he would “break his face” and then, to be clear, wrote “in real life” in the all-chat. The Dota 2 fans did not take long to respond, with many of them asking if ATF was taking things to the next level.

ATF later took to Twitter to dismiss the encounter as a friendly banter between friends. He said that he and kiyotaka have been teasing each other and they both like to pull pranks on each other in ranked matches. ATF did, however, acknowledge that he might have gone overboard this time and said that he personally apologized to kiyotaka, who, according to sources, was not offended.

“Me and kiyotaka are friends; we always tease each other in ranked matches. Perhaps I overdid it and told him sorry if I took it that far. He said he doesn’t care and knows that I am joking. All the things that I told him were jokes – none of them were serious or true.”

— Ammar Alassaf (@AmmarAlassaf6), November 5, 2024

It is not the first time that ATF and BetBoom have been engaged in rather tense interactions. Audience will recall a similar exchange with a former BetBoom player Alexander ‘TORONTOTOKYO’ Khertek. Both of these incidents have contributed to the existing enmity between BetBoom and Team Falcons, but the players claim that it is all in good fun.

A New Sparring Partner: ATF vs Ame at DreamLeague S24

In another case, ATF had a less direct confrontation with Wang “Ame” Chunyu of Xtreme Gaming. The two players were observed to be nodding at each other at the end of each game move especially when one of them made a mistake or died. Though not as direct as the comment he made to kiyotaka, the constant informing of Ame by ATF further cemented his image as a proponent who loves to provoke his opponents.

Notably, Ame himself is not immune to trash-talking and has had his fair share of run-ins with other Chinese Dota 2 players. Although ATF’s actions were not as provocative as the kiyotaka situation, they were still indicative of his ability to cause trouble.

Can ATF Keep His Cool?

As DreamLeague Season 24 is still ongoing, fans are eager to know if ATF will maintain his tradition of aggressive communication. ATF’s previous encounter at PGL Wallachia Season 2 was almost a fight with Akbar “SoNNeikO” Butaev, and fans are wondering if he might provoke another fight in this tournament.

Whether this is just ATF’s way of turning up the heat or it is a matter of “fair play” is still open to question. If things get out of hand, Dota veteran Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi, a pillar of calm in Nigma Galaxy, might have to step in to restore order.