The 19th edition of the Asian Games should have taken place in 2022. But because of Covid 19, it will take place this year, between September 10-25. One of the games that it will feature is Dota 2, and China’s representative looks really strong.
A total of 18 teams will take part in the tournament but these are not your typical Dota 2 teams. They are national teams, which means that they need to be pieced together from multiple sources.
In China’s case, the players will come from teams like Azure Ray, Team Aster, and Invictus Gaming. These are not necessarily the strongest competitors in the region, but they are for sure among the best. Right now, all three of them are playing at the Bali Major, which means they finished Tour 3 of Dota Pro Circuit in the top four.
China’s Asian Games team
Here are the players that will represent China at the upcoming edition of the Asian Games:
- Ame
- Somnus
- Chalice
- XinQ
- Fantasy
- Pyw
- LaNm
With the exception of Fantasy, all of these players are former and current superstars. Ame decided to take a break at the end of 2022, so we don’t know how strong he is at the moment. What we do know is that he used to be one of the best carry players in the world.
At the last four editions of The International, he finished 2nd (twice!), 3rd, and 5th-6th. He also won Riyadh Masters 2022 He did all of this while playing for PSG.LGD, a team that continues to dominate the Chinese region even today.
In the case of Somnus, chalice, and LaNm, they are currently teammates at Azure Ray. If all three of them are selected to play as part of China’s team, their preexisting synergy will give them a big advantage over most of the other competitors.
China is the host country, so they cannot afford to play poorly. On top of that, Chinese Dota has such a long and prestigious history that an event like this cannot be missed to prove a point. Several years ago, that wouldn’t have been needed. But now, after a rough regular season for all Chinese teams, a lot of fans need some reassurance.
There’s a high probability that most of the participants will be weak. In Dota 2, few top teams and players are interested in anything other than the Dota Pro Circuit and the other Major tournaments.
Header: Olympic Council of Asia, Valve Corporation