Cover-Credits:
The roster shuffle for The International 12 (TI12) has started to spread to the Chinese region, as Team Aster experiences the departure of its carry player, Du "Monet" Peng. This information was made known on Valve's Dota 2 Majors Registration Page, where the 24 year old is no longer registered to Aster. The change comes after a tough season where the team failed to qualify for TI12. The organization says goodbye to Monet after three years. However, there has been no official announcement of the change in roster from Aster so far.
Monet is no longer a member of Team Aster’s Dota 2 roster
Team Aster's roster is down to four players following the departure of the carry player, as shown on the Dota 2 Majors Registration Page.
TBD
Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan (on loan from Nigma Galaxy)
Lin “Xxs” Jing
Hu “kaka” Liangzhi
Yu “Siamese.C” Yajun
Monet was one of Aster's most senior members, and he had delivered several outstanding performances over the years. Even though players in other roles moved or their performances dipped, Monet was one of the team's most consistent performers.
The triumph at Intel World Open Beijing was important for Aster, but coming fourth at TI11 was the highlight of the last three years. In 2023, the squad participated in the majority of international competitions but was unable to demonstrate its full ability in any of them.
It was one of the favorites in the TI12 Chinese qualifier, but a shocking loss against Team Bright saw it get eliminated in 5th-6th place, marking the end of one of the most disappointing seasons.
With roster changes likely in other Chinese teams after big names like Invictus Gaming and Xtreme Gaming failed to qualify for TI12 this year, it will be interesting to see where Monet will go next.
For Aster, the team is in a state of restructuring since it is not only Monet that has gone, but also Ye "BoBoKa" Zhibiao, who did not return to the squad after playing in TI12's Southeast Asian qualifiers on loan with BOOM Esports. SumaiL's future with Aster is also uncertain considering he spent some time in an alien region and did not find the success he was hoping for.
Once the organization makes an official statement, a lot more will become evident regarding Team Aster's future and how many changes will occur.
