Team Aster Announces Roster Change After Bali Major Disappointment
Team Aster, following their underwhelming performance at the Bali Major, has made a significant roster change by parting ways with Ye “BoBoKa” Zhibiao, who had been with the organization for nearly five years. This decision also breaks up the longstanding duo of BoBoKa and Lin “Xxs” Jing, who hold the record for being the longest-standing duo in Dota history.
On July 7, Team Aster announced the roster change through a post on the Chinese social media platform Weibo. The team mentioned that discussions between the club and its players were held prior to the decision. Stepping in as BoBoKa’s replacement is Dota veteran Hu “Kaka” Liangzhi, who will celebrate his 10-year anniversary in Dota 2 this December.
Kaka had been on a hiatus from competitive play at the beginning of 2023 but made a comeback with Xtreme Gaming for the Dota Pro Circuit Tour Two in April. The roster change comes as a result of Team Aster’s early elimination from the Bali Major, which means they have failed to qualify for The International tournament in October 2023.
Related: Dota 2 Bali Major live updates: Full schedule, scores, and standings
Both BoBoKa and Xxs were original members of the Team Aster lineup, which was formed in September 2018. They have played in every single Aster game to date, totaling 1,037 matches according to DatDota.
However, their history together goes back even further. Before joining Team Aster, BoBoKa and Xxs played together for three years in Team DK. According to DatDota, the duo has an incredible record of playing 1,755 matches of Dota together over the span of eight years.
In fact, BoBoKa and Xxs have played nearly 300 more games together compared to the second-place duo of Y` and Faith bian. The duo of N0tail and Fly comes in a close third. Notably, BoBoKa and Xxs have an impressive win rate of 56 percent across all 1,755 matches.
After their time in Team DK, the two players joined Invictus Gaming and made their debut for the main squad in April 2016. One year later, they secured their first tier-one title by defeating OG at the Dota 2 Asia Championships, and their success continued from there.
BoBoKa and Xxs have participated in four editions of The International, with their best result being a fourth-place finish with Team Aster in 2022. Now, Xxs will need to adjust to playing without his long-term partner, while BoBoKa currently remains teamless as he prepares for the regional qualifiers of TI 2023.
Kaka will have little time to settle into his new team, as Team Aster is highly likely to receive an invitation for the Riyadh Masters, which starts on July 17. After that, the team will return home to gear up for the regional qualifier of The International in August.
Team Aster, roster change, BoBoKa, Xxs, Dota history, Dota 2, Bali Major, The International, esports, tournament, Dota veterans, Team DK, Invictus Gaming, Dota duo, win rate, regional qualifiers, Riyadh Masters.