Lynn Vision kept roster 18 months amid scarce Chinese pros

Lynn Vision opened the Cologne Major with an 8-13 loss to M80 before beating HEROIC 13-11 on Dust2. HEROIC had been ranked 27th and Lynn Vision 31st before the match. Coach Yifei “GUM” Dai said the club has kept the same roster for 18 months because the pool of Chinese players willing to turn professional is small.

GUM told reporters many players prefer pick-up games and that going pro in China is difficult. He said the team considers its current lineup the best available domestically and that limited replacement options influenced the decision to retain the group.

He described practical benefits from long-term cohesion, saying the squad has built routines and trust. “If you played long enough, you can occasionally take two or three days off, then you come back, and you don’t need to do a lot of work to get back to the game,” he said.

GUM addressed match performance in Cologne, saying Lynn Vision had prepared counters on maps but that execution and mid-round choices had cost them. He called the Dust2 win “relieved” and said both maps began slowly. Speaking about a pistol-round decision, he joked with player Westmelon: “Who is the stupid one that when you know they had a set up… who is the stupid one who will command your players to actually challenge their setup?”

On how the team qualified for the Major, GUM said Lynn Vision focused on one domestic event to chase a title and the VRS points. He said other organisations tried to enter overlapping tournaments and became fatigued, and that a loophole in the VRS rules left room for forfeits that helped Lynn Vision qualify. He described the path to the Major as “very strange” and denied any negotiations or impropriety.

The roster has remained unchanged for a year and three months. GUM said the team will work on execution and mid-round decisions ahead of their next matches in Cologne.