Team Tidebound returns to Dota 2 after almost a year
In early 2025, a new challenger appeared from the Chinese Dota 2 front – Team Tidebound. The team quickly rose to prominence, featuring a star-studded roster and bringing in a few solid results. Unfortunately, after reaching the Playoffs at The International in that same year, their further results were not up to par, and Tidebound took a hiatus.
Most of the players departing the roster would move on to Vici Gaming, but, that roster disbanded following TI 2026. Now, Tidebound re-enter the scene, refreshed and ready to take on the season.
New roster, old faces
In a post made via the organisation’s Weibo account, the announcement of the team’s return was confirmed.
Image via Weibo
After a period of reflection and extensive roster development during the off-season, alongside discussions and negotiations with various parties, Tidebound Esports Club officially announces the revival of its roster. After extensive preparations, the team has now reunited, ready to launch a new charge toward the highest honors in Chinese Dota 2."
During their final stint in 2025, at DreamLeague Season 27, Tidebound’s roster featured the likes of Guo “shiro” Xuanang and Lin “planet” Hao, amongst others. Their TI 2025 roster included Cheng Jin “NothingToSay” Xiang, as well as Zhang “Bach” Ruida, as a team hoping to bring the Aegis back to China. As mentioned previously, the hiatus would see most of the aforementioned players moving into VG, while NTS joined Xtreme Gaming.
With the disband of VG, and XG’s roster shuffle, the doorway opened for Tidebound’s return, and it sees many players coming back into the roster. The biggest change up comes in the coaching role, as Zhang “xiao8” Ning steps in to take the team to the top.
The full new Tidebound roster is:
- Guo “shiro” Xuanang
- Cheng Jin “NothingToSay” Xiang
- Zhou “Yang” Haiyang
- Lin “planet” Hao
- Zhang “y`” Yiping
- Zhang “xiao8” Ning (coach)
While the team was recently confirmed, it seems as though they are a bit too late to participate in some of the currently ongoing qualifiers, such as DreamLeague Season 30. However, with BLAST SLAM IX qualifiers also on the way, we could see the new look Tidebound in action in just a few days.
