Azure Ray announces period of adjustment

Shiqi Chen

Shiqi Chen

Azure Ray has announced to enter a roster adjustment period after their disappointing loss in Riyadh Masters 2024.

After a disappointing performance at the Riyadh Masters, Azure Ray announced on their official Weibo account that the team will enter a period of adjustment.

Azure Ray to make roster adjustments

Azure Ray finished at the bottom of their group with a 1-9 record in the Play-In stage of Riyadh Masters 2024, resulting in a surprising early elimination. This was unexpected for a Chinese team that has won honors and features several star players.

After today's matches, they posted on their official Weibo account, announcing that "Due to recent poor results, we will enter a period of adjustment". They also posted a picture captioned "Can't afford to lose face away from home."

Official Weibo announcement from Azure Ray ( Image via Weibo )
Official Weibo announcement from Azure Ray ( Image via Weibo )

Currently, AR's roster is as follows:

  • Lou "Lou" Zhen
  • Zeng "Ori" Jiaoyang
  • Zhang "Faith_bian" Ruida
  • Xu "fy" Linsen
  • Jiang "天命" An
  • Zhang "LaNm" Zhicheng (Coach)

Azure Ray's disappointing performance this year

Since the end of 2023, when Azure Ray reformed and welcomed back famous "retired" players Faith_bian and Ori, their performance has been inconsistent. After the reformation, they failed to qualify for ESL One Birmingham but managed to eliminate Team Spirit and secure fourth place in the tier 1 event BetBoom Dacha Dubai 2024. However, later on, they did not qualify for PGL Wallachia Season 1 but achieved a top 3 finish in Elite League Season 1.

Azure Ray's results after they reformed ( Image via Liquipedia )
Azure Ray's results after they reformed ( Image via Liquipedia )

Riyadh Masters 2024 was their last major event of the season, as they failed to qualify for The International 2024. Unexpectedly, they were eliminated in the Play-In stage with a 1-9 record.

We interviewed their hard support player, TianMing, before DreamLeague Season 23. He mentioned that the team atmosphere was good, but when asked about in-game decision-making or leadership, he said, "maybe no one has a really loud voice." This suggests that the team’s issues may have been present for some time.

Entering roster adjustments

We do not yet know how AR will adjust its roster, but it will certainly be a challenging process. They are also not the first Chinese team to undergo adjustments this year: LGD Gaming has also made similar announcements.

Recently, the Chinese community has frequently criticized coach LaNm for AR's draft decisions, but the issues surely exist in just one individual. Every player on AR's roster has won a tier 1 event, making the adjustment process even more difficult. However, They have since have accepted an invitation to a local LAN event in China which will be held at the end of the month. We can expect to hear new updates soon.

A tournament in China soon ( Image via Weibo @超维视界赛事 )
A tournament in China soon ( Image via Weibo @超维视界赛事 )

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