Faith_bian to Retire From Competitive Dota 2 After TI11

With Valve’s True Sight documentary being released next weekend, the Dota 2 community is looking forward to PSG.LGD and Team Spirit’s opinions on the Grand Finals of The International 2021 (TI10). Earlier today, PSG.LGD offlaner Zhang "Faith_bian" Ruida posted on Weibo that he wrote his opinions about the Grand Finals just ten days after TI10. However, Faith_bian also announced in the same post that he will be retiring from competitive Dota 2 following the conclusion of The International 2022 (TI11).

The Chinese mid laner also noted in his announcement that he will not have any regrets playing competitive Dota 2 even if his team, PSG.LGD gets last place at TI11.

Faith_bian to step away from competitive Dota 2 after TI11

Earlier today, Faith_bian posted, on his Weibo account, his opinions on the Grand Finals match between PSG.LGD & Team Spirit at The International 2021 (TI10). He revealed that his opinions were noted just ten days after the TI10 Grand Final. However, he did not release his opinions at the time due to possible backlash from the Chinese community as he said that they were very toxic after the Grand Finals.

The Chinese offlaner also said that he posted his opinions about the Grand Finals for Valve's upcoming True Sight documentary, saying that it would be the right time to release the statement.

“With the imminent release of TI10's True Sight, I thought I could now post the replay portion of the article I wrote ten days after the TI10 finals in hopes of improving everyone's viewing experience with a new perspective. This article had been read by all of my teammates at the time and there was no objection to the facts I wrote, only that the club [PSG.LGD] stopped me from releasing it at the time out of concern for public opinion.” said Faith_bian.

However, the post did not end there as the PSG.LGD offlaner also announced that he shall be retiring from competitive Dota 2 following the conclusion of The International 2022 (TI11), stating that he will play with PSG.LGD as his last team.

“By the way, I also want to tell everyone: I will retire after TI11 and say goodbye to the game forever to start a new chapter. These are my personal thoughts for a long time, but I won't talk about it now. Although I might regret it, my heart yearns for it.” said Faith_bian.

He also noted that despite his announcement, he will give it his all with PSG.LGD at TI11 while also saying that he will not have any regrets even if he ended up in last place. For those who are interested in Faith_bian’s recap of the TI10 Grand Final, you may read a translation about the recap from Reddit.

“For now, I just wanted to tell my teammates and opponents that I am more than determined for the upcoming matches and I will try my best to fight for the title regardless of the result. Even if I finish at the bottom I can gladly accept it. I'm looking forward to embracing the enjoyment of esports competition one last time. And sharing it with old and new fellows all around the world. See you in the arena.”

[translations via DeepL Translate]

Faith_bian has had an illustrious career at 24 years old, having won The International 2016 (TI6) with Wings Gaming before joining PSG.LGD in late 2020. PSG.LGD went on to secure second place at TI10, barely losing out to the winner Team Spirit in a best of five series.