Sumail Hassan parted ways with Nigma Galaxy following the conclusion of the Berlin Major today, May 8. The mid player was standing in for Team Aster in the major, and after an impressive performance with the team, he chose to embark on a new chapter with the Chinese powerhouse.
Nigma, who had been unable to attend Majors since 2021, bid farewell to SumaiL in a Twitter post, while Aster confirmed the move on Weibo.
Despite initial concerns surrounding the language barrier, SumaiL’s stint with Aster during the Berlin Major proved successful, with the team securing a top-eight finish and much-needed DPC points. Many Dota 2 fans called this experience “eye-opening” as SumaiL has been away from the Majors throughout his time in Nigma.
Considering Aster was in the market for a mid laner and the team also had a previous interest in SumaiL, all stones fell into place when the two finally experienced what it would be like to play together at the Berlin Major.
Though the Chinese Dota 2 scene has a history of importing players from the Southeast Asia region, the same can’t be said for European players. In Dota 2’s history, only a handful of European players have joined full-Chinese teams, one of them being Dominik “Black^” Reitmeier.
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This roster move doesn’t, however, seem to be a permanent one just yet. Aster’s Weibo post implies the team was able to secure SumaiL on loan for the moment since it’s still continuing talks with Nigma regarding “his future.”
With SumaiL thrown into the mix, Aster’s roster for the Dota Pro Circuit’s summer tour is as follows:
- Du “Monet” Peng — Position one
- Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan — Position two
- Lin “Xxs” Jing — Position three
- Ye “BoBoKa” Zhibiao — Position four
- Yu “皮球” Yajun — Position five
