SumaiL parts ways with Nigma, joins Aster

Everyone suspected that it could happen, but nobody believed that Sumail “Sumail” Hassan was adventurous enough to start playing for a Chinese team for real. He was a stand-in for Team Aster at ESL One Berlin Major and he did a fantastic job. With a little bit more help, Aster would have finished in the top six.

Their result was a seventh-eight place, which was not bad and gave them some much-needed qualification points for The International 12. But it could have been even better.

Sumail’s strengths

Sumail is the definition of a prodigy. In the mid lane, he’s been one of the best in the world since the age of 16. Now, at 24, he’s a veteran player who has seen it all.

With 10 years of experience in Dota 2, Sumail is an absolute legend and a TI winner. And the fact that he continues to be one of the best in the world at his role makes him a hot prospect. But Aster?… The move is a shocking one to say the least.

We’ve rarely seen top Western players going to play for a Chinese team and even if they wanted to do it, those teams would have been reluctant to accept them. Chinese culture is very hard to integrate into and Mandarin is even more complicated than Dota 2.

But last year, the Chinese government made some decisions that have radically reduced the number of hours that their youth can spend playing video games. And because of that, Chinese Dota is struggling.

Most of the veterans have either retired or taken a break to enjoy their success, and the newer players and teams cannot compete against the strongest competitors from Europe and America.

That’s why a transfer like Sumail is absolute gold and a real opportunity to do more than would have been possible otherwise. But we don’t know yet for how long he will play for Aster and whether or not he enjoys it.

Most likely, Sumail will compete in China until the end of The International 2023. After that, he’s coming back to Europe. Or maybe he will go back to North America and join an organization like Shopify Rebellion, who are currently struggling to get top placements at Majors despite having a formidable roster.

Aster are certainly happy to have Sumail as part of the roster and they’ve already taught him a bit of Chinese.

Header: ESL