Somnus Retires From Dota 2 Without A TI Title Win

Lu “Somnus” Yao has officially retired from Dota 2 esports after teasing his exit a few hours before his retirement.

This was his statement to Weibo:

“My childhood is made to have regrets and [I] accept a situation that I can’t change because it’s too late. Thank you all for your support. My journey is over. Somnus out.”

Fans weren’t sure what the cryptic message entailed initially

At first, most of his followers and Dota 2 enthusiasts weren’t too sure of what he meant by this because of the cryptic nature of the message, but it is pretty obvious that he’s leaving the Dota 2 esports scene. From his announcement, it clearly looks like this wasn’t an easy decision.

Image Credits | GosuGamers

The announcement came following his team Royal Never Give Up’s elimination from The International 2022. As mentioned in his announcement, not winning a TI will be a source of regret for Somnus, but it must be remembered that Somnus leaves with considerable fame within the Chinese scene in competitive Dota and Dota 2. He will go down as one of the most popular players in Chinese players in Dota 2 history.

Somnus will be remembered for his time at LGD-owned rosters

He was one of the strongest members of various highly-competitive outfits like Vici Gaming back in 2013 before joining the likes of Royal Never Give Up. The last couple of years were a little turbulent with many of his teammates, including himself, contracting COVID. Despite all that, the team continued to battle through.

He will most fondly remembered for his time in LGD-owned rosters from 2014-2020, who were always one of the more competitive sides in that – often qualifying for The Internationals, which included not finishing out of the top four in four of the iterations. He was part of sides that one quite a lot of Majors throughout that time, which is not something all Dota 2 players can claim.

Other major Dota 2 players might also announce their retirement soon

It was a bittersweet end to his career. It’s never nice to be on the losing side, but there was clearly a lot of appreciation among fans when he finally called it a day on social media. It looks like Somnus won’t be the only one retiring from the tournament.

Liquid’s Lasse “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen and Chinese Dota legend Zhang “Faith_bian” Ruida are also set to call it quits once the tournament ends. A lot of fans responded to his message by suggesting that he not leave.  Players have come back from retirement before, but this does look like the end for Somnus in the Dota 2 scene. He is still only 26 years old and has a long life to look forward to.

The battle for the Aegis will continue in the coming days. Evil Geniuses and PSG.LGD remain the favorites to lift the crown. For Royal Never Give Up, it’ll be another disappointing campaign in the end. Onto next year.

Comments are closed.