Southeast Asian Dota 2 players, rejoice – The Chinese players have finally left the SEA server since they began migrating away from CN server back in 2021.
This is a step towards the right direction as the long-term effect of this migration has left both servers in tatters.
Somnus and Ame (Image credit: LGD)
Chinese Pro Players in SEA server
Beforehand, it’s crucial to understand why Chinese pro players were playing in SEA servers initially. Back in 2021, a wave of Chinese pro players stopped playing in their own home region. This was due to the rigging of matches that occurred in high-rank Immortal matches.
For instance, pro players would get blackmailed by their allies in the match, who threatened to throw the match. Due to the limited player pool in high MMR matches, these players somehow managed to always match into the same game as pro players.
Coupled with the blatant match-fixing in Chinese Dota 2 amateur leagues and even low-tier pro games, the competitive Chinese scene was almost unplayable. Hence, this motivated pro players to migrate to SEA servers, hoping for a change in pace.
Why are the Chinese players returning to CN server?
After three years of “combined federation” among Chinese pro players, Lu “Somnus” Yao among the first few of them, proposed for the top Chinese pro players to return to CN server. This movement is subsequently backed by other pro players, such as:
Du “Monet” Peng
Yin “Aq” Rui
Yang “Chalice” Shenyi
And, most importantly, Wang “Ame” Chunyu, too joined the fray. To quote Somnus’ words:
“The source of the decline in the collective level of Chinese DOTA comes from the collective migration of Chinese players to the SEA server starting in 2021. Now we must correct it.”
SEA players celebrate the movement
Hearing the news, many SEA pros and high elo players celebrated. Before anyone thinks that this was an unwarranted reaction from the SEA players, there are good reasons why SEA players are looking forward to playing in their servers without Chinese pros again.
The Chinese players, despite the high regards many players have held on them as disciplined and better Dota 2 players, reportedly were more toxic on SEA server than ever. Of course, SEA servers have a notorious reputation for being toxic. Despite that, SEA players never give up on a game if the throne is still up.
Yet, the Chinese players brought another level of toxicity into the SEA matches. Notably, Chinese pro players forfeit matches and do not play till the end. It’s a showcase of poor perseverance, reminiscent of how League of Legend games have the option to surrender.
Ame’s beef with SEA’s biggest pro player guild
In another instance, Ame has been throwing games whenever he matches with SEA pro players under the “Kukuy” Guild. For the uninitiated, the “Kukuy” Guild is the most prominent SEA pro players’ guild, comprising of top players, such as Carlo “Kuku” Palad, Kim “Gabbi” Santos, Armel “Armel” Tabios, Yuri “Yowe” Pacaña, John “Natsumi-” Vargas and Jinn Marrey “Palos” Lamatao, to name a few.
It turns out that the beef Ame had, dates back to a match Ame was playing with Gabbi. During this match, the team wanted to end early due to having a lead, but Ame wanted to farm. Although the game did narrowly win in favor of Ame’s team, the Chinese player seems to still be angry about Gabbi and other SEA players. Ame also reportedly has beef with Kuku.
Gabbi looking at Ame’s thrown match (Image credit: Gabbi’s Twitch channel)
What does this means for Chinese Dota 2 servers?
Following the long decline in competitiveness level in Chinese pro matches, this movement will hopefully make Chinese servers great again. We have seen a recent decline in Chinese pro teams, with Xtreme Gaming being the only Chinese team to make it to top 8 at the International 2024.
Many pros, such as Somnus and Ame, believed this issue is attributed to the lack of Chinese players in Chinese servers to improve one another.