lorenof: Conventus Stellarum Roster May Change

Published September 21, 2026

Conventus Stellarum have entered PGL Wallachia Season 9 with a team that may look different once the event is over. Midlaner Artem “lorenof” Melnik explained during the tournament broadcast that the players came together to compete in Bucharest, without treating this combination as their finished roster. He left the door open to changes, but did not announce a signing or identify anyone who would be replaced.

The starting point was a series of conversations after The International. lorenof contacted players he wanted alongside him, and those discussions produced the group now competing under the Conventus Stellarum name. The team was put together shortly before Wallachia began. Its invitation gave the project an immediate competitive setting rather than a long period in which to settle every personnel question before appearing in an official match. There was already a connection with one teammate: lorenof had played alongside OmaR at TI. The interview also explored how a different partnership developed, asking what had drawn the midlaner to offlaner DM. That answer offered a more specific account of the recruitment process than a general promise to assemble the strongest available players.

Why DM appealed to lorenof

A conversation at a tournament helped persuade lorenof that he wanted to play with Dmitry “DM” Dorokhin. He liked both the offlaner’s calm manner and his understanding of Dota. His explanation combined those impressions with his opinion of DM’s ability in the role: this was a player he considered a good fit for the season, rather than a name chosen without previous contact. Building the team was not something lorenof described simply as entertainment. Although he found the process interesting, he also treated it as work that needed organizing. The post-TI discussions, the choice of teammates and the practical task of getting a group ready for a tournament were all part of that process. His answers concentrated on people he had spoken to and wanted to work with, rather than presenting a completed long-term plan for the organization.

There is, however, an area in which lorenof already sees agreement. He believes the players have established a common approach to macro play: how they want to move around and use the map. His assessment focused on shared decisions during a game, a separate issue from whether the current personnel will stay together. That agreement is being tested in a Swiss group stage, where teams face opponents with the same series record in each round. Three wins send a team into the playoffs; three losses end its run. Winning the first match therefore improves the starting position, but does not guarantee a place in the elimination bracket. The newly assembled team has to work through that format in best-of-three matches, alongside the other entrants.

An opening win gives the project a start

Conventus Stellarum’s first series on September 19 provided a demanding introduction. They defeated PlayTime 2:1 after surviving a deciding game in which the opponents had built a 24,000 net-worth advantage and secured mega creeps. PlayTime also claimed multiple Roshans without finishing the match. lorenof played Earth Spirit in that comeback, helping keep his team in the game while its base was under pressure. The finish came after Conventus won a fight and Ghost’s Lone Druid broke through the tier-four towers to destroy the Ancient. It was an opening win earned after PlayTime had already dismantled the base defences, rather than a comfortable first outing for the new group. The tournament lineup comprises the following players and coach:

• Ghost and lorenof are joined by DM, OmaR and panto in the playing lineup.
• KuroKy is the coach listed for the Conventus Stellarum project.

PGL Wallachia Season 9	Event details
Host city	Bucharest, Romania.
Tournament dates	September 19–27.
Prize pool	$1 million.
Starting field	Sixteen teams.

Asked about his outlook, lorenof avoided setting a target for Wallachia and said he takes the competition one day at a time. His assessment of TI was more concrete: he had not expected a top-six finish and was broadly satisfied with it, while acknowledging that reaching the top three would have been better. For now, he has moved from that result into a new team and an ongoing tournament, without promising a particular finish.