Chinese Dota 2 powerhouse LGD Gaming has revealed its new roster for the upcoming 2024 season will include two new players in midlaner Zhou «Emo» Yi and position 4 support player Xiong «Pyw» Jiahan.
Emo and Pyw will be replacing Cheng «NothingToSay» Jin Xiang and Lin «planet» Hao. NothingToSay left LGD earlier this month to join Invictus Gaming (IG) while planet has been moved to LGD’s inactive roster.
LGD’s roster shakeup comes after the team’s third place finish at The International (TI) 2023 with a mixed roster of decorated veterans and promising young players.
After their 5th-6th place finish at TI 2022, LGD started the 2023 season of the now-defunct Dota Pro Circuit with only NothingToSay, Zhang «y`» Yiping, and coach Zhang «xiao8» Ning remaining from its previous roster.
Wang «Ame» Chunyu had retired and was moved to the team’s inactive roster while Zhang «Faith_bian» Ruida and Zhao «XinQ» Zixing left the team. LGD replaced their departing players with Guo «shiro» Xuanang, Li «项羽» Longwu, and planet.
LGD saw mixed results to start the season, as they finished first in the Winter Tour regional league for China but bombed out of the Lima Major in 9th-12th place. As a result, the team loaned 项羽 to IG and signed Nicholas «zeal» Lim as his replacement.
Despite the roster adjustment, LGD once again saw mixed results after they finished second in the Spring Tour regional league and got knocked out in 9th-12th place again at the ESL One Berlin Major. That prompted another roster adjustment, this time with Li «Niu» Kongbo replacing zeal in May.
With Niu on the squad, LGD finally saw some promising results. They finished first in the Summer Tour regional league, third in DreamLeague Season 20, and 5th-6th in the Bali Major, with the latter earning them a direct invite to TI 2023.
However, LGD caught another 9th-12th place finish, this time at the Riyadh Masters 2023, ahead of this year’s Dota 2 world championship. In September, LGD also ceased its five-year partnership with PSG Esports, the esports wing of the French football club Paris Saint-Germain F.C.
Despite their rollercoaster season, LGD managed to hit their stride at just the right time in TI 2023.
They finished the first phase of the Road to The International Group Stage as the first seed of Group D, even scoring a surprising sweep over three-time Major champions Gaimin Gladiators in the process. In the second phase, they swept Vivo Keyd Stars to earn an upper bracket berth in the Road to The International Playoffs.
LGD continued rolling in the first two rounds of the upper bracket, sweeping 9Pandas and fellow Chinese team Azure Ray. However, they suffered their first loss at the hands of eventual champions Team Spirit in the upper bracket finals.
LGD would then get knocked out by Gaimin Gladiators in the lower bracket finals, with the three-time Major champions going on to finish in second place. LGD settled for third place and with US$270,499 in consolation.
Despite the loss of NothingToSay and planet, LGD will be looking to build on its success in 2023 with two veteran players in Emo and Pyw joining the squad. Emo and Pyw are most known for their time with IG, having helped the team win the ONE Esports Singapore Major and finish fourth at TI 2021.
ESL One Kuala Lumpur will begin with a three-day Group Stage, taking place from 11 to 13 December, and will split the 12 participating teams into two groups of six teams each to compete in a single round-robin format.
LGD Gaming Dota 2 roster:
-
Guo «shiro» Xuanang
-
Zhou «Emo» Yi
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Li «Niu» Kongbo
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Xiong «Pyw» Jiahan
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Zhang «y`» Yiping
-
Zhang «xiao8» Ning (coach)
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From Liquipedia Dota 2 Wiki
- Overview
- Results
February 19, 2001 (age 23)
Years Active (Player):
2017 — Present
Approx. Total Winnings:
Zhou «Emo» Yi (born February 19, 2001) is a Chinese player who is currently playing for Bleed Esports.
- Infamously typed «?» in all chat during the Singapore Major 2021 while being down 2-0 in the Grand Finals against Evil Geniuses. Invictus Gaming ultimately went on to win the series 3-2.[1]
- Reached 10,000 MMR on January 26, 2021.[2]
- Reached 11,000 MMR on August 15, 2021.[3]
- Reached 12,000 MMR on December 21, 2023.[4]
- Reached 13,000 MMR on May 3, 2024. He is the first Chinese player to reach this milestone.[5]
- Had the highest average KDA (11.97) at The International 2021.
- Had the highest average kills per game (9.00) during Tour 3 of the 2021/22 DPC CN Second Division.
- Had the highest average kills per game (9.55) during Tour 2 of the 2023 DPC CN Upper Division.
- His career high for kills in a single game is 26. He achieved this feat while playing for Invictus Gaming as Outworld Devourer in their first group stage match against For The Dream during the Chongqing Major China Qualifier.
| Date | Place | Tier | Tournament | Team | Result | Prize | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-06-05 | 2nd | Tier 2 |  |
DPC CN 2023 Tour 3: Division I |
|
5/-/2 | Grp S. | $28,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021-10-16 | 4th | Tier 1 |  |
The International 2021 |
|
0 : 2 |
|
$2,401,100 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021-04-04 | 1st | Tier 1 |  |
ONE Esports Singapore Major 2021 |
|
3 : 2 |
|
$200,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021-03-14 | 1st | Tier 2 | |
DPC 2021: Season 1 — CN Upper Division |
|
6/-/1 | Grp S. | $30,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020-07-26 | 2nd | Tier 2 |  |
DPL-CDA Professional League Season 2 |
|
1 : 3 |
|
$37,051 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020-05-31 | 2nd | Tier 2 |  |
China Dota2 Professional League Season 2 |
|
1 : 3 |
|
$59,546 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020-04-19 | 2nd | Tier 2 |  |
CDA League Season 1 |
|
6/-/3 | Grp S. | $24,323 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020-01-24 | 5th — 6th | Tier 1 |  |
DreamLeague Season 13 |
|
1 : 2 |
|
$60,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019-11-24 | 3rd | Tier 1 |  |
MDL Chengdu Major |
|
0 : 2 |
|
$110,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019-11-10 | 1st | Tier 2 |  |
DOTA Summit 11 |
|
3 : 0 |
|
$72,000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Extended list of results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
- [e] 2023-12-10 |
by LGD Gaming
- [e] 2024-01-28 |
LGD Gaming part ways with Emo after two tournaments by Sarah «KZ» Zulkiflee of Esports.gg
Zhou Emo Yi is a famous mid player from China, his main characters can be considered Ember Spirit, Void Spirit, Queen of Pain. He reached the 12,000 MMR mark in December 2023.
Emo’s career started in 2017, back then he played in tournaments like H-Cup and Dota 2 Professional League as a member of Source Code team. After a while, Zhou moved to iG.Vitality and after qualifiers for The International 2018 (TI8) he found himself in the main roster of Invictus Gaming.
- Emo has dedicated more than 5 years of his esports career to the Invictus Gaming organization.
Considering the prize money, Emo’s best result can be considered top-4 at The International 2021 (TI10) and a landmark championship at ONE Esports Singapore Major 2021.
- Emo famously sent a «?» into chat when iG cambecked against Evil Geniuses from 0-2 to 3-2 in the grand finals of ONE Esports Singapore Major 2021.
Emo continued to play steadily for Invictus Gaming until 2023. And it all started back in April 2018 in the iG.Vitality roster.
- November 28, 2023 — LGD Gaming announces a reshuffle in the lineup and Emo becomes the new mid player.
Emo made his debut for LGD Gaming at ESL One: Kuala Lumpur 2023, where his team finished in 9th-10th place. The squad also failed to qualify for DreamLeague Season 22.
In January 2024, it became known that Emo was leaving LGD Gaming. According to the player, his kick was voted for by all members of the team, including himself. Zhou felt that he was not good enough for the team, and in particular for the coach of the squad, the legendary Xiao8
