Cover-Credits:
Esteemed Chinese Dota 2 player Lu "Somnus" Yao has been making the headlines recently. Earlier this month, Somnus revealed his intentions to take a break from playing Dota 2 professionally. In a recent revelation brought forth by Twitter handle CN Dota in A Nutshell, Somnus reportedly stated that Azure Ray’s owner Yang Yiqing persuaded him to keep playing professionally. However, Somnus still went forward with his decision to take a break from playing Dota 2 competitively.
Somnus Remains Firm About his Decision
Somnus disclosed that Yang Yiqing, the owner of Azure Ray, had urged him to continue his professional career. However, Somnus found the demands of constant practice and lengthy boot camps too exhausting, leading him to decline the offer. Despite the excitement of competing in LAN events, the toll of rigorous preparation before tournaments proved to be a significant challenge.
According to the translation provided by CN Dota in A Nutshell, Somnus reportedly said, “AR’s [Azure Ray’s] owner persuaded me to keep playing as a pro but I found that too tiring so I refused that option. The exciting part of being a pro is to compete in LAN events, but the tiring part is about long period bootcamping and practicing before every actual tournament starts.”
On 28th November, Somnus along with Yang "Chalice" Shenyi and Xu "fy" Linsen left Azure Ray. To fill in the void left by these three players ahead of ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023, Azure Ray brought in Guo "Xm" Hongcheng, Zhao "XinQ" Zixing, and Lin "Xxs" Jing.
Azure Ray's new lineup consists of the following members.
Lou “Lou” Zhen
Guo “Xm” Hongcheng
Lin “Xxs” Jing
Zhao “XinQ” Zixing
Jiang “tiān mìng” An
Somnus, in his earlier statement, hinted at an extended break from professional play. He said that both he and Chalice are the type of people who are happy to play in the pro scene even without a salary. But when they don't want to do that anymore, their decision won't be swayed even if someone provides them a salary.
This development is disheartening for Dota 2 fans, particularly those in the Chinese gaming community. A similar sentiment was expressed when another Dota 2 legend, Wang "Ame" Chunyu, took a hiatus almost a year ago on 7th December 2022.
Azure Ray is a newly formed team that achieved an impressive 4th place finish at The International 2023. Its strong performance secured the team an invitation to ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023, which is scheduled to kick off on 11th December. The team will have the opportunity to prove its mettle once again at this upcoming event.
