Aster parts ways with Fade and Sccc, adds ex-Royal Never Give Up stars

Fariha Bhatti Published 23/08/2020

Chinese organization Team Aster has announced some massive changes to its starting roster.

Dota 2 legend and Aster co-founder Xu “BurNIng” Zhilei revealed that the team has parted ways with renowned carry player Song “Sccc” Chun, mid-laner Kee Chyuan “ChYuan” Ng and captain Pan “Fade” Yi. Replacing the trio are Liu “白学家” Yuhao, Du “Monet” Peng, and Jiang “天命” An.

Replacing Sccc in Aster’s lineup is Royal Never Give Up carry Monet Peng. A superstar in his own right, Monet is regarded as one of the best players to come out of the Chinese scene in recent years. Best known for his tenure with LGD Forever Young, he is one of the few that can fill Sccc’s shoes.

Aster’s new mid-laner 白学家 can be considered one of the best breakout players of this year. After leading Sparking Arrow Gaming to multiple tournament victories during this season, he was picked up by RNG in a trade a little over a month ago. He competed for RNG during OGA Dota PIT and the DPL-CDA playoff stages, leading the team to a third and seventh-place finish, respectively.

Former Keen Gaming support 天命 will be taking over the supporting duties. Before joining Keen, had stints with EHOME and Aster sister team Team Sirius.

The final addition to the roster will be Dota legend Zhang “LaNm” Zhicheng, who will be taking over coaching duties from Yao “QQQ” Yi.

Sccc and Fade both joined Aster following The International 2019, with Fade coming out of a short-lived retirement to join the team.

Team Aster looking to rebound after mediocre Dota 2 season

Team Aster has had a lackluster 2019-2020 Dota 2 season. The team’s form plummeted after online leagues became the norm, largely making middle-of-the-pack placements that saw them consistently fall short of established giants Vici Gaming, PSG.LGD and Invictus Gaming. Their best showing was a third-place finish at the DPL-CDA Professional League last month.

Team Aster’s roster revamp is the second notable shakeup that suggests another Great Chinese Dota 2 Shuffle is beginning. Chinese social media platforms have been alight with rumors of Lu “Somnus” Yao, Xu “fy” Linsen, and Zhang “Eurus” Chengjun all becoming free agents. Dota 2 has also attracted interest from esports organizations outside the game, most notably PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds brand 4 Angry Men.

Sccc, ChYuan, and Fade are all big names in the scene, so expect them to find a new home before long.

Fariha Bhatti

About Fariha Bhatti

Fariha Bhatti is a long-time gaming writer who loves competitive FPS games and slots with particularly fun themes. She got her start playing classic games developed by SNK, from legendary fighting game series The King of Fighters to challenging platform franchise Metal Slug. She now spends most of her time playing Valorant and Counter-Strike 2 while working her way through new slot releases to find her next favorite. Fariha has been published at PCGamesN, TalkEsport and ONE Esports.

View full profile