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One of the biggest roster changes of the season happened to Azure Ray with the departure of three veterans, Lu “Somnus” Yao, Yang “Chalice” Shenyi, and Xu “fy” Linsen. During episode 217 of the We Say Things podcast, co-hosts Shannon “SUNSfan” Scotten and Troels Lyngholt “syndereN” Nielsen discussed the three players’ departures. It surprised SUNSfan that they parted ways, given the success they achieved in such a short time while syndereN noted how “crazy” it was that players like them were so good that they could just not play the entire season and then form a stack in the middle to not only play but also do well at TI. Furthermore, syndereN discussed the possibility of a return for Somnus, Chalice, and fy.
SUNSfan and syndereN share their thoughts on Azure Ray’s roster change
As SUNSfan discussed recent roster changes on the We Say Things podcast released on 30th Nov 2023, he raised the question of the future of Somnus, Chalice, and fy after they had enjoyed great success so quickly.
“I wonder what is going to happen with Somnus, Chalice, and fy. It is strange that they are making these drastic changes. They did pretty well at TI and they didn’t really have that much time together. That was a three month thing or something.”
As explained by syndereN, the team was motivated largely by TI, and not the grind that occurs throughout the year. At the same time, syndereN found it hard to comprehend how these players were able to assemble a team during the middle of the season and finish the season with a top four place at TI12.
“The motivation of the team was very different. It didn’t feel like a team that wants to play pro Dota all year and go through the grind and is super driven by that. I think they had a bit of a dream with TI and they wanted to play that. They were motivated for that part but isn’t it crazy to think about that you can just do that if you are that good. I don’t know man. Sometimes, the world isn’t just fair. How can these players kind of chill all year – I’ll stream a bit I guess, oh TI is coming up, sure, let’s throw together a stack and get top four. (laughs).”
After being formed only in May 2023, Azure Ray went on to qualify for the Bali Major, finishing 7th-8th, and then proceeded to qualify for The International 12 (TI12), finishing fourth. The team played only four tournaments in total.
The competitive Dota 2 careers of Somnus, Chalice, and fy face a cloud of uncertainty in the future. During his livestreams, Somnus has expressed a desire to not play as much in the future, while Chalice and Fy may or may not make a return.
“I don’t know what their plans are. I think out of those three, Somnus, Chalice, and fy right – I think Somnus is the least likely I would say to be playing on a team in the next six months because the vibe he gave off for quite a while was that he was kind of at least temporarily done playing pro. Chalice and fy are a bit more – I am sure we will get some better information in the comments because there are people who keep up better with the Chinese scene than I do but yeah, don’t know. Don’t know what they are going to do,” syndereN said.
While Azure Ray has lost three heavyweights, their replacements include several well known Chinese names like Guo “Xm” Hongcheng, Zhao “XinQ” Zixing, and Lin “Xxs” Jing. The team will play in ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023 which begins on 11th Dec 2023.
