Maybe to take break from Dota — PSG.LGD signs substitute

posted by Brasozial,

Yao 'Somnus' Lu is one of the best mid-laners in the world, but the Chinese star has experienced a few tough setbacks — including losing the Grand Finals of The International 2018. Now he has stated that he wants to take a break, leading PSG.LGD to sign a temporary replacement.

🎙 #Dota2 Announcement

After the conclusion of the #ChongqingMajor, Lu 'Maybe' Yao requested some time off, due to personal and physical reasons.

After internal discussion, LGD Gaming has decided to respect his wishes and approve his application to leave temporarily.
— LGD Gaming (@LGDgaming) 29. Januar 2019

PSG.LGD lost in Lower Bracket Round 5 against Evil Geniuses at The Chongqing Major — a disappointment for the best team in China, especially in front of their home crowd.

Maybe is one of LGD's star players, but has decided to take a break from competitive Dota 2 after finishing fourth at the second Major. According to LGD's tweet he doesn't want to leave PSG.LGD completely, but has requested some time off due to personal and physical reasons.

Effective immediately, @CDECgaming's Mid player XM will substitute for him during his absence. pic.twitter.com/oUBdwFaeyk
— LGD Gaming (@LGDgaming) 29. Januar 2019

Maybe's replacement will be the Chinese mid-laner Guo 'Xm' Hongcheng, who currently plays for CDEC Gaming. However, he was just one of two players remaining at CDEC after Luo 'eGo' Bin and Li 'ASD' Zhiwen joined EHOME.

A true TI star - just missing the Aegis

Maybe won two Majors back-to-back with LGD in 2018 — Mars Media Dota 2 League: Changsha and EPICENTER XL — and was one of the favourites to win TI8. They made it into the Grand Finals after beating Team Liquid, Virtus.pro and Evil Geniuses.

However, they lost twice against the dark horses of OG, "only" finishing second at TI. For Maybe this was his third top four placement at TI, after finishing fourth at TI7 and third at The International 2015.