The Riyadh Masters 2024 play-in stage ended disastrously for Chinese Dota. Two of the three teams from China finished at the very bottom of the groups. Azure Ray left the competition with a 1-9 overall game score. This follows their shortfall in the regional qualifiers for The International 2024 (TI13), leaving the organization out of the two biggest tournaments of the year.
Azure Ray entered 2024 with a massive shuffle.They closed 2023 on a high note by placing fourth at TI12 and winning ESL One Kuala Lumpur. However, after the Malaysian tournament, three of their players left to join Wang "Ame" Chunyu at Xtreme Gaming.Azure Ray was forced into a restructuring that brought Zhang "Faith_bian" Ruida back from retirement.
Despite having two legends on their roster, Faith_bian and fy, Azure Ray’s performance was underwhelming. besides staying at the top in their region and claiming qualifier slots for several LAN tournaments, they struggled in international competition. Their only top 4 finishes this year were fourth at BetBoom Dacha Dubai and third at Elite League Season 1, both in May.
What’s next for Azure Ray
“It's too embarrassing,” posted Azure Ray on their Weibo page after being eliminated from Riyadh Masters 2024. “We can’t continue to lose far away from home,” the organization noted, announcing a restructuring period.
While they won’t be at TI13, the season isn't completely over for AR. The team received a direct invite to the $500,000 Snow Ruyi LAN event at the end of the month in the Chinese Olympic village Taizicheng. A total of 12 teams will compete from July 28 to August 4. While this might be the last big test before TI for some, for others, the Snow Ruyi Invitational can turn into a true trial by fire.
Azure Ray is not the only team invited to this tournament after a disappointing year. Team Secret, Nigma Galaxy, and Virtus.pro will also be there, likely all eyeing major roster changes in the post-TI shuffle.
Azure Ray current roster:
- Zhen “lou” Lou;
- Jiaoyang “Ori” Zeng;
- Zhang “Bach” Ruida;
- Xu “fy” Linsen;
- Jiang “天命” An;
- Coach: Zhi Cheng “LaNm” Zhang;