The qualifiers to the ESL One Los Angeles Major are just a few days away, but that isn’t stopping PSG.LGD from making some late roster changes.
The organization has announced a trade with CDEC Gaming, sending away longtime carry player Wang “Ame” Chunyu in favor of Lai “Ahjit” Jay Son. The news was revealed on social media, explaining that the decision came “following the players’ personal wishes and for team development.”
This is the new PSG.LGD roster:
Ame’s departure marks the end of an era for LGD Gaming. Ame joined LGD Gaming following The International 2016 and helped the organization turn its fortunes around following a rough 2015-2016 season. Though the team didn’t immediately click, roster shuffles between the various LGD Gaming and LGD.Forever Young eventually produced two very strong teams, with Ame helping LGD Gaming reach the top-four of The International 2017.
The following season was even better, as Ame and the rebranded PSG.LGD won the MDL Changsha Major and EPICENTER XL ahead of a second-place finish at The International 2018. Whilehe next season wasn’t quite as successful, PSG.LGD remained strong en route to a third-place finish at The International 2019.
The 2019-2020 Dota Pro Circuit season has started off in disastrous fashion for PSG.LGD. The team opted to sit out of the MDL Chengdu Major, which forced them into the open qualifiers for the DreamLeague Leipzig Major. The team was handed a shocking defeat early in the proceedings when they lost to FTD.Apollo.
Though some chalked this up as a fluke or something brought about by the recently implemented Outlanders Update, PSG.LGD was eliminated early from the ONE Esports Dota 2 World Pro Invitational Singapore. This suggested that PSG.LGD’s issues ran deeper than just one bad outing, likely prompting these changes.
Ahjit is a somewhat surprising addition to the team, but should be a solid replacement. The Malaysian player has competed with almost every notable Southeast Asian organization, including Clutch Gamers, Mineski, WarriorsGaming.Unity, and Fnatic. He headed to China at the start of the 2019-2020 season by joining CDEC developmental brand CDEC Avenger before being promoted to CDEC’s primary team.
The new PSG.LGD will debut in the Chinese open qualifiers to the ESL One Los Angeles Major. The team will once again face a difficult road full of academy teams and squads full of pro-level free agents. PSG.LGD will likely be a favorite against anyone they come up against, but that was also the case in the qualifiers to the DreamLeague Leipzig Major where they lost unceremoniously.
These questions will ultimately be answered later this month. While most regions will see their open qualifiers start on February 7, the Chinese qualifiers were recently delayed to February 12 due to travel restrictions surrounding the coronavirus.
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