At the start of 2023, Lu “Somnus” Yao retired from competitive Dota 2, but didn’t spend up to six months before returning to the scene. His second return was expected to be a fun ride in the Dota Pro Circuit, and the player is living up to that after he qualified for The International 2023.
Somnus has further revealed that he feels confident in his abilities before the big event, saying that he feels “more alive” after participating in Azure Ray’s intensive two-month boot camp.
At the boot camp, he successfully overcame his laziness and connected deeply with the game and his team to increase his chances at TI 2023, among other superstitious actions.
One of them, dying his hair gray-blue before arriving in Seattle, something he considers his lucky color for the year. Incidentally, Gray-blue tones are also featured on AR’s logo.
Somnus further appreciated the team’s effort to reach TI despite their various issues throughout the season. Similarly, TI12’s theme is blue, too, which means Somnus will get to wear the color on all of his gear at TI 2023 to complement his unique hair color.
Meanwhile, Somnus isn’t scared about the possibility of finishing in second place, which seems to be a jinx for top Chinese players and teams. To try and break the jinx, he jokingly mentioned that he would seek advice from Xu “fy” Linsen or Wang “Ame” Chunyu on things to do should he finish at the TI12.
Meanwhile, Worlds 2023 began on Tuesday, Oct. 10, with the first two Play-In games taking place. The second series of the day saw LOUD and GAM Esports face-off, but it was the Brazilian squad that pulled off an upset and also made the first penta kill of the tournament.
Daniel Ademiju Idowu
