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Team Aster has been hit hard just as the group stage of the International 10 (TI10) commences. The organization announced earlier today through Weibo that midlaner Liu "White Album" Yuhao would miss the first day of the group stage. The midlaner, along with the entire contingent, was recently diagnosed with the virus, . Although the symptoms were beginning to improve, White Album was not guaranteed to play at his best. The team's assistant coach, Chen "86" Yuxuan, will fill in for the midlaner. White Album's participation in the upcoming days of the group stage is also uncertain at this point.
Team Aster’s midlaner White Album will miss the first day of TI10’s group stage
Valve had been consulted prior to the decision, as Team Aster mentioned their decision was based on the health of the players. Now, as White Album continues to recover from the virus, the team expects him to be available in the following days of the group stage.
Due to 86's prior experience as a midlaner in professional gaming, the team will not be forced to make any role swaps. After playing last for We Are Young in 2017, 86 took on coaching duties for multiple teams in China.
As of 1st Oct 2021, Team Aster had confirmed that the entire TI10 contingent, a total of 10 members, tested positive for the virus. Invictus Gaming also had four positive cases among its members. After initial concerns, it was announced later that Team Aster and Invictus Gaming would be able to compete from the team hotel.
Team Aster’s updated roster for the first day of the group stage is as follows:
Du "Monet" Peng
Chen "86" Yuxuan
Lin "Xxs" Jing
Ye "Borax" Zhibiao
Zhang "LaNm" Zhicheng
The following are Team Aster's series on the first day of the group stage:
Team Aster vs Evil Geniuses (3:00 PM SGT)
Team Aster vs Team Undying (11:PM SGT)
The rest of the group stage will see Team Aster play six more series. TI10's group stage starts on 7th Oct and ends on 10th Oct. Two teams from each group will be eliminated. The 16 remaining teams would proceed to the Main Event based on their places in the group stage. The Main Event takes place from 12th to 17th Oct.
The entire group stage schedule can be viewed HERE.
