Paparazi announces retirement from Dota 2

Zhang “ Paparazi” Chengjun, a renowned midlane player from China, has announced his retirement. His team, Xtreme Gaming, confirmed the player’s retirement via a post on the Chinese social platform Weibo. The statement also says Paparazi requested his retirement after The International 2022. However, with his region lacking midlaners, he holds off his retirement for a certain period. The team will have to find a new midlaner, as his retirement also comes weeks before the International 2023 qualifiers.

An Accomplished Career 

Paparazi is one of the most accomplished players from the Chinese region. Although he has not won The Internationals, the most prestigious trophy in the world of Dota 2 esports, he helped his team secure multiple Major titles.

He came into the professional scene in 2015. In 2016, he became the first player to reach 8K MMR in the Chinese servers. However, he caught the international communities’ attention at The International 2017. Despite his team being one of the teams to get eliminated early, he displayed a marvellous performance in his role, standing his ground against the likes of Sumail and Sccc. It was at DAC 2017 Championships that his skills got recognised as he won the Solo Middle against players such as Miracle-. A year later, he defended his title in DAC 2018 Championships. He attended The Internationals four years in a row, starting from The International 2017. He also proved that he is a versatile player by playing the role of safelaner.

XG’s future

However, with time comes a new generation of players challenging Paparazi’s skills. Xtreme Gaming gave mixed results in the 2022-2023 DPC Season. The team topped the region once at The 2022-2023 DPC Season at the Spring Tour. The team secured a 9th-12th place finish at The Berlin Major. Failing to secure a direct invite for The Internationa 2023, the team needs to go through Ti qualifiers to earn a seat at the tournament. Guo "Xm" Hongcheng recently joined Xtreme Gaming as their new midlaner for the upcoming qualifiers.

Featured Image Source: Flickr/Mars Media