Cover-Credits:
Valve, WePlay Holding
The ESL One Fall 2021: Bootcamp Edition will not feature Cheng "NothingToSay" Jin Xiang, one of China's rising Dota 2 stars. The midlaner, who is currently playing for PSG.LGD, will not be physically present with the team until September 2021, the organization announced on its Weibo account. As a stand-in for NothingToSay, the team's coach, Zhang "xiao8" Ning, who is a former Dota 2 player and The International (TI) champion, will take part in the ESL One Fall 2021. PSG.LGD is expected to bootcamp in Romania for this event, which begins on 21st Aug 2021.
NothingToSay will not play for PSG.LGD in the ESL One Fall 2021
PSG.LGD's playing roster and coach, xiao8, are all from China, while NothingToSay is from Malaysia. At the moment, it's unclear why the midlaner won't be able to join the team until September 2021.
PSG.LGD's roster for ESL One Fall 2021 is as follows:
Wang "Ame" Chunyu
Zhang "xiao8" Ning
Zhang "Faith_bian" Ruida
Zhao "XinQ" Zixing
Zhang "y`" Yiping
Xiao8 also stood in for NothingToSay in one series of the recently concluded OGA Dota PIT Season 5: China. He played both games as Pangolier in the midlane. Thus, it is likely that the coach will also play in the midlane in the ESL One Fall 2021 and the team will not have to make any role swaps.
While he was an active pro player, xiao8 was quite a storied offlaner. Between 2011 and 2018, he played for various reputed organizations such as Invictus Gaming, LGD Gaming, and Newbee. His greatest achievement came with Newbee in 2014, when he won TI4.
Taking place from 21st to 29th Aug 2021, ESL One Fall 2021 will feature some of the best international Dota 2 teams. PSG.LGD is placed in Group B with Alliance, beastcoast, SG esports, Team Empire, and Team Liquid.
On 22nd August, PSG.LGD will face Beastcoast in its first series of the group stage.
NothingToSay has been an integral part of the team for six months and is regarded by many within the community as one of the best Dota 2 midlaners in the world today. PSG.LGD has been in excellent form lately, so it will be interesting to see if his absence leads to a dip in performance. In addition, the fact that this is the first event in patch 7.30 for PSG.LGD, adds to the intrigue.
