This article was originally published on GameSpot's sister site onGamers.com, which was dedicated to esports coverage.

　　The close friends recaptured by artist diredude.In two separate announcements on each of the player's respective Weibo pages Team DK's Xu 'BurNIng' Zhilei and Vici Gaming's Bai 'rOtk' Fan have both confirmed that they will be retiring from playing professional Dota and will now move onto new roles forming a new casting partnership.

　　BurNIng will also be staying close to the scene by helping to train a number of the upcoming new players which will be greatly needed after a string of retirements in the Eastern scene after this year's International.

　　The change leaves Team DK with at least two departures with the retirement of Zhang 'LaNm' Zhicheng and no confirmation yet of the future of their remaining players Daryl Koh 'iceiceice' Pei Xiang, Chai 'Mushi' Yee Fung and Lei 'MMY' Zengrong.

　　With the Association for Chinese Esports (ACE) setting a transfer deadline of August 26th for all Eastern teams to announce their changes it leaves the teams with just over a week to confirm their changes.

　　Team DK's Xu 'BurNIng' Zhilei statement that was provided on his personal Weibo page:

　　Today is an important day for me, as I decided to bid farewell to professional (playing) scene and put an end to my professional Dota career.

　　7 years of Dota and 6 years playing professionally has led me through a lot of patches. I was lucky to have played and get in the professional scene, to win uncountable honours and glories, to achieve objectives one after another. Dream is deemed to be a luxury for minority, although there is still something that I regret about. Never question your purpose, that's how you win everything. All my way here, all I asked is to try my best and be faithful to myself.

　　The more I had in mind is my gratitude. First is my gratitude towards Dota, that brought me to this magical stage and gave me, who is introverted, the chance to express myself. Besides, I also want to say thank you to my teammates and opponents, for I won't be here today without you. I would also like to thank my friends who have been watching me and supporting me. Your encouragement gave me strength, and your criticism made me grow.

　　Today marks the end of my professional career. I hope it's a comma rather than a full stop. No matter how reluctant I am, the day has come at last. Just like when they asked me last year, what's your youth? My answer was, my youth is Dota. Now that my youth has gone with retirement, these precious memories remain in the bottom of my heart, sparkling forever.

　　After retirement I will stick around the scene and my initial plan is to stay in the club and help with training new players, to give them advices based on my experiences and methods. I will also team up with rOtk as caster duo and attend offline events. Hope to have your cheers!

　　Thanks to Reddit's carrymugabe for the translation.Vici Gaming's Bai 'rOtk' Fan statement that was provided on his personal Weibo page:

　　After a period of reflections I made the decision to retire. Probably these four or five years of professional Dota has taken a toll on my body and I want to take a rest. During my 3 years in DK, happiness, success, and sadness formed the track of my youth. While this year in VG, I have felt my growth and I have become more able to take responsibilities. Thank you to the club and my teammates for your trust in me, you are always the best! And finally one of my only two sons (Sylar) has been fighting with me in the same team for one year, so I no longer regret anything. Shitty Bun (Super), as a teammate for four or five years, words are not needed between you and me. I will not leave you, just like what we said when drinking the other day, wherever you are, I will be there as well. Son (Sylar), you are terrible on your drinking capacity so we haven't talked too much to our hearts, but it's enough that I have tried my best on many things. Anyway, wish everyone happy in the future, as happiness is the most important.

　　Also thank you, the Dota College. I have many classmates and also wish everyone happy in the future. If someone is to ask me in the future, I would say that I graduated from Dota College and I am proud of it!

　　Although it's only been one year in VG, I will never forget this 5-man team. The most competitive new player Ah Qiang (fy), after whom Rubick is named. What you need is a calm heart and more experience. The best 5th, Fenrir, you are Ah K in my heart, not a single victory comes without your selfless devotion. The best 2th, not one of the best, Ah Cai (Super), there are so many heroes that you play at the level that they can be named after you. The Morphling player, Liu J (Sylar), you are known for being stable and reliable, but I also hope you can take more responsibilities and have a more aggressive playstyle in the future. Hunter (VG's manager), Lao Xiumi, Mao18, I wish everyone in the club success in the future.

　　Also there are my former teammates, Maoniu, Dog Long (longdd), Brother Bao (Zippp), and Baldie (QQQ), thank you for understanding and tolerance, thank you.

　　It's not only been a happy year at VG but also a fruitful year. From the first world championship to a dip in form, and finally the unstoppable streak at TI4. Words cannot describe my feelings, for going on will only reduce me to tears.

　　Be it when I never leave a teammate behind, or my wholehearted love for Dota, I will be the same rOtk. ^_^

　　After retirement, I will be joined by Big B (BurNIng) as casters, and go to some offline events and interact with fans, so please support us. We may also form a team for fun to keep ourselves warmed up.

　　Please also do expect surprises!

　　Like: "Hi everyone, we're BB!", "I'm XB (rOtk)", "And I'm BurNIng (Big B)", "Will you watch the reality show where we are hosts?"

　　We will still devote ourselves to the promotion of E-Sports and make it popular for real!

　　At last I would like to say thanks to my buddies who has been supporting and loving E-sports all along. You have accompanied me through my professional career, gave me confidence, and made my professional career more interesting. Due to the abundance of time after retirement, I will play in-house games with stacks from my shit talking gang, keep fighting!

　　Thanks to Reddit's carrymugabe and arts1 for the translation.