It’s the end of an era. At least that’s what Dota enthusiasts think about regarding a series of announcements that emerged during The International 11 competition.
The announcement in question, of course, refers to the professional players who will hang up their mouse and keyboard and call it quit when TI 11 finally comes to an end.
Several players in the competition have expressed their desire to put an end to their careers when they are still at the top of their game. Whatever their motivations may be, there will be a huge void when they are not around to show us their magic in upcoming competitions anymore.
There’s something about China’s regeneration
“After TI10, I already decided that this was my last year competing in the pro Dota scene. Now, looking back through my whole career, I’m so happy to have had the unique experience to fight against every opponent with my teammates by my side” Zhang “Faith_bian” Ruida wrote on his Weibo’s page.
A somewhat startling statement, considering his status as a legend in the competitive Dota scene. As one of China’s Dota superstars who has competed in major tournaments since 2014, he has established himself as a role model for any Dota player who aims to be a professional player, particularly those in China.
Bian had been the headlines long before he was known as PSG.LGD’s offlaner when he was playing for the Ehome team, one of China’s senior Dota teams. Even though they were under pressure at the time for not joining an esports association in China, Bian and company preferred to do it independently. Their efforts paid off when Ehome established themselves as one of the competition’s behemoths.
This team’s excellent performance was not left unnoticed. They were the target of world class organisations. And it was PSG that opted to pull y’ and Bian from Ehome, as well as other players from other Chinese clubs, who were then dubbed as “China All Stars.”
And the rest is history.
PSG.LGD finished fifth to sixth in the TI 11 competition. Bian, however, will retire without any resentment. He had asked his squad to play and take it easy in his final season.
Bian won’t be the only PSG.LGD player to retire this season. His mate, Wang “Ame” Chunyu, has stated his desire to end his professional season after TI 11 and enjoy life while waiting for his favorite game to come out: Diablo 4.
Ame’s reputation on the competitive scene may not be as well-known as Faith bian’s, but nobody ever questions his sense of professionalism and skill. The master of Morphling has been together with Bian since 2020, when he decided to leave CDEC Gaming and join fellow Chinese stars at PSG.LGD.
While Ame has not confirmed it, his departure will also leave a big void in the Dota 2 professional community.
In addition to Bian and Ame, China’s competitive scene will also miss Lu “Somnus” Yao, formerly known as “Maybe,” at the end of the TI 11 competition. Like Bian, the RNG midlaner announced his retirement plans on his personal blog. RNG was eliminated from the TI competition following their defeat to Entity in the first round of the lower bracket.
“My childhood is made to have regrets and (I) accept a situation that I can’t change because it’s too late. Thank you all for your support. My journey is over. Somnus out.” Somnus wrote on his Weibo page.
Similarly to Bian and Ame, this former LGD and Vici Gaming player is a role model among competitive Dota players, China competitive scene in particular. Many of their peers believe that their departure signifies the end of an era of Dota in China and are concerned about the current state of Chinese Dota players, which is slowly declining.
“Most of the new generation are playing mobile games rather than Dota,” Said Team Aster’s Coach, Cheng “Mad” Han. He argues that the numbers of newer Dota players in China have been steadily on decline in comparison with the United States and Europe regions.
However, Mad is optimistic that the achievements of people such as Bian, Ame, and Somnus will inspire future generations. He believes that the newer generation of Chinese Dota players will step up, sooner or later.
A happy end for Matumbaman
On the other side of the world, Lasse Urpalainen, better known as Matumbaman, is looking forward to the conclusion of his adventure in TI 11. The 27-year-old has already resolved to retire regardless of the outcome.
Matumbaman kicked off his career in a series of local tournaments. The carry who once failed his trial game for Fnatic gradually captured the attention of many professional Dota players. And it was KuroKy who found him and asked him to join 5Jungz in 2015, which became the foundation of Team Liquid, which is still competing to this date.
With Team Liquid, the Finnish finisher has never failed to steal the attention of international viewers with his inhumane mechanical abilities. He helped Liquid in frequently placing in the top four places at TI while also eliciting adoration from the spectators. In 2017, he won TI and was in the spotlight after dominating Newbee, the Chinese finalist.
In two days, Team Liquid will meet Team Aster, one of China’s emerging stars. They understand very well that any team that knocked LGD out of the competition should not be overlooked. And Matumbaman has done his best to prepare for this match.
“I’m just happy to make it to be honest. My last year of pro-Dota. My last tournament. So absolutely f***g amazing.” said Matumbaman.
He prefers not to think about the end result. All he wants is to enjoy one final good time in TI with his pals.
