Star Dota 2 mid laner Lu “Somnus” Yao announced his retirement shortly after The International 2022, but ever since making the decision to step away, he had been second-guessing himself before finally making his grand return in the summer split of the Dota Pro Circuit.
That decision has turned out to be a good one so far, as Somnus has qualified for the upcoming Bali Major alongside some other legendary names. Returning under Azure Ray’s flag, Somnus teamed up with Lou Zhen, Yang “Chalice” Shenyi, Xu “fy” Linsen, and Jiang “天命” An. Coached by another veteran, Zhang “LaNm” Zhicheng, AR snatched the last remaining major seat after a tiebreaker match against Xtreme Gaming.
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The series between AR and XG was a fitting end to the season, as it featured some of the longest matches in the Chinese DPC. AR lost the first match in 65 minutes but bounced right back up, winning the final two matches in the series.
Despite being one step behind the global competition, hope has been restored to Chinese Dota with Syed “SumaiL” Hassan also qualifying for the Bali Major with Team Aster. For the first time since TI11, the Chinese Dota 2 scene will be attending a Valve event with some of the most accomplished names in its history.
The Dota 2 Bali Major will begin on June 29. This will be the final event for teams to earn DPC points, and it’ll serve as the last chance for many teams that are looking to guarantee their seat at TI12.
