Azure Ray out of Riyadh Masters 2024, finishing last in Play-In stage

Shiqi Chen

Shiqi Chen

Azure Ray unexpectedly eliminated from Riyadh Masters 2024, winning only one game in the play-in stage, and will have roster adjustment.

After only three days of the Riyadh Masters 2024, Azure Ray (AR) has been eliminated due to poor performance. By the end of the second day, AR had a 0-8 record, leading to their early exit. On the third day, AR managed a 1-1 draw against nouns, but finished at the bottom of Group A with a 1-9 record, leaving this tournament.

Azure Ray eliminated in the early stage

The format of Riyadh Masters 2024 is similar to last year. Some teams received direct invitations to the group stage, while the rest were divided into two groups for the Play-In stage. In the Play-In stage, each group had six teams. The top three teams from each group advanced directly to the next round, the group stage. The fourth and fifth place teams will play the decider match to move on. Only the team at the bottom of each group will leave the stage directly.

As a Chinese team with good results this year, AR had high hopes of moving forward. However, they unexpectedly didn't win a single match in the first two days with a 0-8 record, losing to Aurora, PSG Quest, MOUZ, and HEROIC. By the end of the second day, AR was confirmed to be eliminated from Group B. On the third day, they faced the North American team nouns, managing to win one game, and avoiding a complete shutout.

Riyadh Masters 2024 Play-In stage: Group B standings (Image via Liquipedia)
Riyadh Masters 2024 Play-In stage: Group B standings (Image via Liquipedia)

Azure Ray's disappointing performance

This season, AR has had mixed results. In their first major event, ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023, they made an impressive reverse sweep to win against Gaimin Gladiators in the grand finals. After that, famous Chinese players like Ame and Faith_Bian returned, forming the new Xtreme Gaming and Azure Ray.

Since then, they participated in most tier 1 tournaments, including BetBoom Dacha Dubai 2024 and DreamLeague Season 22. Sometimes they performed very well, they could finish in third or fourth place. But other times they might leave early in the first round.

Results of Azure Ray this year ( Image via Liquipedia )
Results of Azure Ray this year ( Image via Liquipedia )

After their elimination from Riyadh Masters 2024, their official Weibo account announced that the team would enter a period of adjustment. However, with the Clavision Snow Ruyi Invitational happening in China later this month, we can expect to hear from them again soon.

Stay tuned to esports.gg and our Dota 2 section for more upcoming news during the Riyadh Masters!