LGD Gaming has decided to make a pivotal change in its Dota 2 roster after a disappointing run at the ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023 and falling short in the DreamLeague Season 22 qualifier. The shake-up involves moving Zhou "Emo" Yi to the inactive roster and bringing in former Vici Gaming mid laner Gao "Setsu" Zhenxiong to fill the mid-lane position.

In an official announcement on Weibo, LGD Gaming stated, “In compliance with the player's personal wishes, and after friendly consultations and internal communication with multiple parties, it was announced that the LGD E-Sports Club DOTA2 branch has made the following adjustments: The original second-position player became inactive on Monday (ID: Emo). Player Gao Zhenxiong (ID: Setsu) officially joined the LGD esports club DOTA2 division as the second position.”

The motivation behind this change, as revealed by LGD Gaming, was the perceived lack of synergy between Emo and the rest of the team. Emo joined LGD Gaming in November 2023, alongside Xiong "Pyw" Jiahan, with the aim of filling the void left by Cheng "NothingToSay" Jin Xiang’s departure. Unfortunately, the team's performance at the ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023 was lackluster, winning only one series and finishing 9th-10th in the standings.

The DreamLeague Season 22 qualifier showed promise as LGD Gaming reached the final stages but stumbled in the face of Azure Ray and G2.iG. Emo’s gameplay in the decisive match against G2.iG, where he played Lina, highlighted a lack of synergy with teammates and mispositioning in team fights, leading to their defeat.

Rumors of the roster change had circulated even before the official announcement, with Lu "Somnus" Yao expressing concerns about the compatibility of Emo's playstyle with the team. Somnus remarked, “I feel like Emo is still a decent player, but his playstyle doesn’t suit LGD, and they don’t have that much team chemistry playing together too.”

Earlier statements from players like He "Inflame" Yongzheng hinted at Setsu's tryout as LGD Gaming's new mid-laner and Emo's potential substitution. Emo himself humorously acknowledged the situation, joking that he was voted out by six members of his team because of his perceived performance.

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The revamped LGD Gaming roster made an impactful debut at the ESL One Birmingham 2024, showcasing improved synergy. LGD dominated the series against Go Along in the upper bracket quarterfinals, securing a spot in the upper bracket semi-finals against Team Bright.