PSG.LGD Is In Shambles

PSG.LGD is one of the most successful organizations in the history of Dota 2. It’s also one of the top 3 teams in China. Or at least, that was the case until last Summer. Then they started to play worse and worse and that resulted in more and more disappointing results. Recently, at the start of September, the team lost two key players who will be difficult to replace. One of them is Somnus, the position 2 midlaner, and the other is fy, the team’s legendary coach and position 4 roamer. These losses will likely lead to PSG.LGD’s collapse in the upcoming season, simply because China is an extremely competitive region.

Somnus’ Value

Somnus wasn’t a brief experiment for PSG.LGD. He was the soul of the roster and had been playing for PSG.LGD since 2015. This man was there since the early days and his contribution to the team’s success is undeniable: 4 participations at The International and all 4 of them had PSG.LGD in the top 4. One Grand Final (2^nd place), two 3^rd places, and one 4^th place. Few players can have that level of consistency.

Apart from these results, Somnus also led his team to important trophies, including i-League Season 3, Mars Dota 2 League 2017, EPICENTER XL (Major), and MDL Changsha Major.

fy’s Value

fy had joined PSG.LGD from Vici Gaming, a team he had helped reach the Grand Final of The International 2014. His contribution to PSG.LGD’s success might have been even greater than Somnus’. Keep in mind that fy joined after TI 7. At TI 8, the team played in the Grand Final. At TI 9, it finished 3^rd. And during this entire time, fy was the captain. This pretty much proves that his departure from the organization will inevitably lead to its downfall, at least for the 2020 – 2021 season.

Replacements

PSG.LGD hasn’t announced its two new players yet. And in my opinion, it doesn’t really matter who they will bring. The quality will certainly be lower. When you’ve been competing with a phenomenal captain and midlaner for years, having to successfully replace them is not only hard, it’s almost impossible. Sure, you can bring in new faces to do the same job, but they won’t be able to raise at the same level of performance.

Where Will The Players Go

It’s hard to say for now what Somnus and fy will do in the near future. Do they intend to stick together as a duo and just find a better team? Or will they split up? If a Dota 2 organization manages to sign both of them, that team should be regarded as a future giant. It usually takes weeks or a few months at most for a world-class captain and a world-class midlaner to find the winning formula for a new lineup. These two roles are so important that when you have exceptional players for them, the rest is much easier to build.

 

Photo credit: Valve