With TI10 happening in less than a month from now, we take a look at the teams competing for Dota 2’s biggest event of the year. In this piece, we take a closer look at Team Aster, the rising superstars of China who will make their first ever appearance at The International this TI10.
Team Aster at TI10 – can LaNm’s veterancy carry the team to victory?
Roster:
- Du “Monet” Peng (position 1)
- Liu “White丶Album_白学家” Yuhao (mid-laner)
- Lin “Xxs” Jing (off-laner)
- Ye “Borax” Zhibiao (soft support)
- Zhang “LaNm” Zhicheng (hard support)
Team Aster’s rise over the three years since the organization has been established is nothing short of amazing, especially given the very tough competition in the Chinese region. With legendary player LaNm now at the helm, Team Aster finally got a proper shot this year when they managed to take the fourth place finish in the Chinese DPC. Despite this, they are still relatively untested against a major chunk of the international competition at TI10, with the only notable name they have faced with success being Alliance in the StarLadder ImbaTV Minor last year.
Predictions:
Team Aster still need to cover a lot of ground if they want to make it far in TI10 this year. They are basically in the same boat as Virtus.pro, with the roster performing so much better online than in LAN events. In the second Major this year, the WePlay AniMajor, Team Aster only managed to achieve a 9th to 12th finish, losing out to TNC Predator who did not even make it to TI10. Their appearance at the first Major at ONE Esports Singapore did not fare any better, with Team Aster landing near the bottom in the same 9th to 12th place finish.
All of that said, not all hope is lost for the team in terms of decent placements. They have been known to do well against other Chinese teams, so if they manage to luck out in the group stage they have a decent chance of finding solid footing in the playoffs.
The International 10 will run from October 7 to 17. Stay tuned for our coverage of Dota 2’s biggest event of the year.
