Somnus Returns with an Allstar Roster for Final Tour of 2022-2023 DPC

Lu “Somnus” Yao, often known as one of the best midlaners in China, has made his return to the professional Dota 2 scene. After his former team Royal Never Give Up, disappointing 13th-16th place finish at The International 2022, Sommus announced his retirement from the professional scene. Since then, he has been missing from competitive play.

Brief Story Of Somnus 

Somnus is one of the most iconic players to grace the game with his presence. He had played for the top tier Chinese teams such as Vici Gaming, LGD Gaming, LGD.CDEC, CDEC Gaming, PSG.LGD, Elephant, RNG. He had won multiple majors with those teams during his professional career.

However, The International title always seems to elude him. The closest he ever reached was in 2018 when he got to the grand finals of Ti8, but OG defeated them in a close series and eventually became the first back-to-back International Dota 2 Champions.

For A Friend? 

A few months before his return, a video of Ame and Somnus, both retired then, surfaced online. The video went viral in the Dota 2 community. In the video, a drunk Ame was apologising to Somnus for his Morphling performance during the grand finals of Ti8, repeatedly calling himself “ I am a noob”. Somnus tried to comfort Ame, telling him he shouldn’t bring up the past and convincing Ame to use the restroom to sober up.

The Team

On Valve’s player registration page, fans noticed YBB Gaming dropping two of their players and picking up some players from the 2018 PSG.LGD roster. YBB Gaming consisted of players like Xu "Fy" Linsen, a legendary support player who played alongside Somnus back on PSG.LGD and Yang "Chalice" Shenyi is a notorious offlaner in China who played alongside Somnus and Fy back on PSG.LGD. In the Spring Tour, with a score of three wins and four losses, YBB gaming merely dodges relegation. Multiple reports also confirmed that Somnus, Fy and Chalice joined the team for no salary. The team also changed their name to Azure Ray for the upcoming DPC 2022-2023 Summer Tour.