Cover-Credits:
RNG
There have been a number of decorated Dota 2 players who have taken a break or moved away from playing professionally following The International 11 (TI11). One of these players, Lu "Somnus" Yao, might just return to the game in the near future. As part of a recent livestream, Somnus explained how Lionel Messi's 2022 FIFA World Cup win with Argentina at the age of 35 really inspired him. As a player who has also dedicated a lot of time to the game, Somnus said that he intended to give it another shot, and would also be more serious when livestreaming moving forward.
Somnus explains how Messi's victory has motivated him to return to competitive Dota 2
Somnus has been actively livestreaming ever since he suggested his retirement from playing Dota 2 professionally following Royal Never Give Up's exit from TI11.
He has regularly interacted with viewers and shared his thoughts on a variety of topics, and during one recent livestream, he expressed his feelings watching Messi win the World Cup, as reported by the Twitter user (@Tr1H4rd3rDota2).
A legend of football, Lionel Messi dedicated his life to the sport and was finally able to win the coveted tournament 17 years after his debut, in what had been heralded as his last World Cup. This motivated Somnus to get back to playing professionally.
“Somnus said in the stream that the whole story of Messi is really inspiring. Even though his recent result is not good at all, he still fulfilled his dream at the World Cup, and he even did that at the age of 35. That actually made Somnus want to go back to compete in the pro scene. Now he really wanted to have another try tbh.”
The persona Somnus had assumed as a livestreamer tends to lean towards the funny side, but he will be cutting that aspect and becoming more serious instead.
“And he said he’ll stop being a funny streamer anymore because ppl will insult him when he is being that kind of guy. From now on he will only show the cold-blooded killer side of him to people.”
As rosters have been locked for the upcoming Winter Tour of the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) 2023, Somnus will have plenty of time to decide on his return. Since the Winter Tour runs until the end of Feb 2023, it's likely that Somnus will livestream until then.
