Following an early playoffs exit at Bali Major, Team Aster end a five-year journey alongside Ye "BoBoKa" Zhibiao.
Team Aster have been tinkering with their roster all season long in hopes of finding the right formula for The International 2023. Ahead of the Berlin Major, in May, they waved goodbye to their mid laner and placed top 8 in Berlin with Sumail "SumaiL" Hassan standing in. Following that tournament, SumaiL moved to China and was officially announced to remain with the team on loan from Nigma Galaxy.
Heading into the Bali Major, the last Dota Pro Circuit pit stop before TI12, Aster needed a top eight or even higher place to secure a direct invite. However, their dram was cut short in the playoffs, where they lost two series in a row and were sent packing with just a 9-12th place and no DPC points.
Their only chance now at a ticket to Seattle are Chinese regional qualifiers, where China has only slot allocated by Valve.
With that in mind and potentially one more tournament where they could find the synergy and team cohesion, Team Aster went with a rather unexpected decision.
BoBoKa, who has been on the team for nearly five years and has played placed with Aster on the 4th place at last year’s TI and top 8 a year before that, was “temporarily” removed from the team.
"We appreciate the continuous effort and dedication from BOBOKA, as parting ways does not mean cutting off all ties. His departure comes with many regrets, and we would also like to thank our fans for their ongoing support "- Team Aster
In their official announcement from July 7, 2023, Aster have also welcomed to their ranks former Xtreme Gaming position 4 support, Hu "Kaka" Liangzhi.
For Aster, the DPC season is over, but they have a high chance of an invite to the upcoming Riyadh Masters 2023, based on their ranking in the ESL Pro Tour. Riyadh is set to begin on the 17th of July, and if Aster do end going, this will be their biggest and final chance to get in sync for TI12 regional qualifiers.
Team Aster current roster
Du “Monet” Peng
Syed Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan
Jing “Xxs” Lin
Liangzhi “KAKA” Hu
Yajun “皮球” Yu
