Faith_bian, Somnus and MATUMBAMAN ended their Dota 2 careers after TI11: what are they famous for
Even before the start of The International 2022, several truly legendary players announced that this tournament would be the last of their careers. But none of them managed to leave on a triumphant note.
MATUMBAMAN (Team Liquid) stopped one step away from the grand final, Somnus (Royal Never Give Up) was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, while Faith_bian took 5th-6th place along with PSG.LGD, although it was the Chinese team that was considered the main favorite of TI11. That is why the CyberScore team decided to remind Dota 2 fans about the achievements of legends who have left the pro scene.
Zhang ‘Faith_bian’ Ruida
Zhang ‘Faith_bian‘ Ruida established himself in public games before starting his professional career in 2014 with Speed Gaming. Wings Gaming became the next team of the Chinese esportsman.
After missing two Majors at the start of Dota Pro Circuit 2015/16, Wings managed to make a serious statement thanks to a crushing victory (3:0) in the ESL One Manila Grand Final over Team Liquid with Kuro ‘KuroKy‘ Takhasomi in the roster.
Throughout the year it seemed like Faith_bian and his team lacked stability, but everything changed at TI6. The spectators of this tournament witnessed the total dominance of the Chinese team, which at first, unexpectedly for everyone, won the regional qualification, and then almost flawlessly went through the playoffs of the tournament. Wings lost only two maps to the opponents, both of them to Digital Chaos: one in the first round, the other in the grand final.
One of the key success factors for Faith_bian and his teammates was the ability to play well on a large number of heroes. During the four maps of the Grand Final of The International 2016, Wings players picked 17 different characters.
It is impressive that TI6 was the first in Zhang Ruida’s career. Before that, he had never managed to get through the qualifiers to the main Dota 2 tournament in the world.
In total, Faith_bian took part in three editions of The International. In 2021, the Chinese player reached the Grand Final, where his PSG.LGD narrowly lost to Team Spirit, and in 2022, as it was written at the beginning of the article, Zhang Ruida and company took 5-6th place at TI11.
In his farewell message, Faith_bian hinted that he was not going to completely leave esports. During the Monkey Business podcast, the legendary player admitted that he wants to learn how to play the piano well and raise the level of Dota 2 both in the Chinese region and all around the world.
Lasse ‘MATUMBAMAN’ Urpalainen
Lasse Urpalainen first came to attention after winning the Assembly Summer 2014 offline tournament with Vedi, Vidi, Vici. During the matches, the Finnish esportsman performed really well on Tinker and Ember Spirit, thanks to which he was remembered by many Dota 2 fans.
After this success, MATUMBAMAN tried out for Fnatic, played in an all-Finnish roster, and then received an invitation to 5Jungz. KuroKy was putting together a team to participate in the Frankfurt Major. In addition to Urpalainen, he turned to JerAx, FATA- and MinD_ContRoL. Even before the start of the qualifiers for the tournament, Team Liquid announced the signing of this roster.
Up until The International 2016, MATUMBAMAN and company dominated the professional Dota 2 scene, placing high in major events. At TI6, Liquid failed to live up to expectations, reaching only the third round of the lower bracket of the playoffs. This loss only irritated the European team, which confidently went through the 2016/17 season and deservedly won the Aegis of Champions in the grand final of The International 2017.
The next year, Urpalainen and his teammates did not show their best game, but you can’t call their performance a failure either: first place at China Dota 2 Supermajor and fourth place at The International. In the early summer of 2019, the Finnish esportsman left Team Liquid and was forced to miss TI9 because he couldn’t find a team to play in the tournament.
It has to be noted that Liquid’s original roster with KuroKy, MATUMBAMAN, JerAx, FATA- and MinD_ContRoL remained unchanged for 892 days from its inception in 2015 to January 2017. The win rate of this roster was as much as 68%.
In the fall of 2019, Urpalainen moved to Team Secret, where he managed to revive his career. Together with his teammates, he broke the record of the Alliance 2013 roster (83 wins in 100 games) and won eight tournaments in a row with an 85% win rate (85-15), which resulted in third place at The International 2021.
MATUMBAMAN and zai left Secret after TI10 to try and get things going for Team Liquid. After a difficult DPC 2021/22 season, as a result of which the European team was forced to fight for a ticket to The International 2022 in the Last Chance Qualifier, Liquid players showed their skills in the main part of the event, finishing third.
Despite the inability to win the Aegis, MATUMBAMAN left the professional Dota 2 scene with a standing ovation from fans in a crowded Singapore stadium. In one of his farewell interviews, Urpalainen said that he had not yet made plans for the future, but he was definitely going to take a break and do things that he had no time for before.
Lu ‘Somnus’ Yao
Somnus is a Dota 2 veteran who has been one of the best Chinese players for a long time. It all started in 2013, when Lu Yao participated in the Chinese Dota Elite Community (CDEC) championship, the country’s most prestigious offline league.
Due to his busy schedule at school, Somnus remained without a professional team until 2014, when he was signed by LGD Gaming. He came to play in the second position as a replacement for xiao8, who then went to Newbee. Two months later, Yao was transferred to the youth team of LGD (LGD.CDEC).
He played for LGD.CDEC until the end of the Dota 2 Asia Championships 2015, after which he returned to the main roster. Somnus lived up to expectations by winning the MarsTV Dota 2 2015 Chinese League and I-league Season 3. After placing third at The International 2015, Yao signed a new contract with LGD until 2019.
The Chinese e-sportsman remained in the team until the start of the coronavirus pandemic. During this time, he managed to reach second place at TI8 and third place at TI9.
In the fall of 2021, Somnus moved to Royal Never Give Up. The team had a slow start to the DPC 2021/22, but still qualified for The International 2022 by winning the regional qualifier. At the tournament, RNG was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.
Afterwards, Lu Yao made a comment in which he made it clear that he was retiring from Dota 2 competitive scene. According to Liquipedia, Somnus earned about $3.2 million during his career.
As reported by CyberScore, The International 2022 ended with a rather surprising victory for Tundra Esports, who defeated Team Secret with a score of 3-0 in the Grand Final.