Team Aster and PSG.LGD qualify for Bali Major

The Chinese region used to be one of the strongest in Dota 2. But in recent years, China started to struggle more and more. Right now, there’s not a single Chinese team in the top 12. This means that the regional Tour 3 results and the Bali Major results will be hugely important for the teams in this region.

Two of the teams that have been reasonably strong this season in the region are Team Aster and PSG.LGD. In Tour 3 of DPC 2023, they’ve already qualified for the Major thanks to the results they got in their first five matches. Both of them got five wins.

Team Aster’s run

Aster dramatically improved their roster around a month ago, when Sumail “Sumail” Hassan joined and became their new mid player. This man won The International 2015 with Evil Geniuses and is regarded as one of the best three midlaners in the world.

His contribution to Aster’s success is quite obvious and he could achieve even more with a bit more support from the rest of the team.

Two of the teams that got defeated by Aster in Tour 3 are Invictus Gaming and Azure Ray. Both of them have excellent players but they’ve yet to develop a playstyle that’s strong enough to function against other strong playstyles.

If Aster win this Tour and then finish in the top eight at the Bali Major, their spot at The International 12 is pretty much guaranteed.

PSG.LGD’s run

PSG.LGD also defeated important teams such as Azure and Invictus Gaming in their first five matches of the Tour, but now they’ll have to play against Xtreme Gaming and Team Aster. These two matches are likely to bring them their first defeat.

The reason why PSG.LGD are strong right now has to do with the fact that some of their players are very experienced and already demonstrated their exceptional skills. For example, Cheng “NothingToSay” Jin Xiang played in the Grand Final of The International 2021, finished fifth-sixth at The International 2022, and won Riyadh Masters 2022.

The team’s coach, Zhang “xiao8” Ning, is an absolute legend. As a player, he won The International 2014 and was in the top three multiple times. Thanks to his Dota 2 knowledge, PSG.LGD are guaranteed to have excellent results as long as the players are capable of implementing his plans.

Header: Team Aster