Team Aster’s Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan revealed in an interview at Riyadh Masters 2023 that he has started learning Mandarin Chinese. He would now master the language so well that he even speaks it better than his teammates, SumaiL explained.
But the player also wanted to acknowledge the support he has been getting from Chinese Dota 2 fans since he started playing for Team Aster. Just a few months after joining the team, the mid laner seems to have adapted quickly.
Learning Chinese
While SumaiL’s abilities were never in doubt when he was first announced as the new Mid Laner for Team Aster, there were concerns about communication within the team, however, as SumaiL does not speak Chinese. In an interview at the Riyadh Masters 2023, the player revealed that he learned Mandarin Chinese from scratch. But probably his statement that he is already fluent in the language now and can already speak it better than his teammates by now was meant more sarcastically.
In addition, SumaiL also talked about his fan base in China. The player has been with Team Aster for almost three months and mentioned at the Riyadh Masters 2023 that he has practiced the Chinese language well during that time. “The thing is, I’ve learned Chinese completely in the last two months, so now we only speak in the native language. I speak fluently, and it’s amazing that I speak better than some others on the team. So there is no problem anymore.”
Great support from Chinese fans
Earlier, SumaiL mentioned that Coach Cheng “Mad” Han is helping him and his teammates bridge the communication gap. He also acknowledged the support he has received from Chinese Dota 2 fans since joining Aster. “I understood that I have a huge fan base in China, except for the little incident in 2016, but even after that, after a few months, it got quieter and everything was… Because TI9 was in China, every time I went out, it felt like I was in the US, you know, playing in front of a home crowd. So I had an idea.”
Aster 2:0 Liquid @TeamLiquid
We call that a clean win! Nice work, team. Another new mid hero from our king Sumail. We will end our play-in stage with a clean 9-1 and move into group stage!
Good game well played.#RiyadhMasters pic.twitter.com/98HcuddRFD— Team Aster (@CN_TeamAster) July 20, 2023
SumaiL could have found more opportunities in a more familiar region, but he chose Aster for several reasons, including the players and their experience on the big stage.
“I didn’t notice much of the Chinese scene, but I liked Aster’s players. They’ve been playing for a long time, and most of them performed well at TI, especially Xxs and Monet.” After a modest start to their collaboration, Aster and SumaiL have increased their performance, thanks to longer time together and improved communication. At the Riyadh Masters 2023, the team won Group A in the play-ins and now has a good chance of finishing the group stage in the top four and advancing directly to the Upper Bracket.