Faith_bian

• Overview
• Results
• Talent

A one-time winner of The International (in 2016), he is considered to be one of the most-accomplished players of all time, particularly within China, and one of the greatest offlaners of all time.

Playing career

Rise to stardom

Faith_bian originally got into DotA: Allstars after seeing a League of Legends advertisement, that noted that it was based on the original DotA: Allstars game. Curious, he began to research what the original game was, eventually installing Warcraft III and playing it. His first game was on [[||link=Puck|class=noprint pixelart]] , and he remembers walking down mid and quitting the game to pick a different hero.

Eventually, he became a pubstar in the Chinese scene. He initially joined Speed Gaming.cn in 2014, before moving to Wings Gaming for the first time in October 2014. Despite a dominant performance in Dota 2 Secondary Pro League, securing them an invite to the Wildcard Qualifiers of DAC 2015, he left the team, but later rejoined the team after Wings' failure to qualify for The International 2015, alongside bLink and y`.

This new roster proved to show promise, if severe inconsistency. Wings won ESL One Manila 2016 with an impressive 3-0 victory over Team Liquid in the Grand Finals, but also finished joint-last in The Manila Major 2016, and failed to qualify for the Shanghai and Frankfurt Majors. Seeded into the China qualifiers for The International 2016, Wings finished first in the Group Stage, securing an invite. They followed this up with 1st at The Summit 5, beating OG 3-1 in the Grand Final.

At The International 2016, Wings got off to an inconsistent start, losing drawing 1-1 with Evil Geniuses but also losing to TNC Pro Team and Natus Vincere in disappointing fashion. With an upper bracket spot at stake, Wings managed to secure a 2-0 victory over LGD Gaming, although questions remained about their inconsistency. In the playoffs, however, Wings' flexibility began to pay off. Their willingness to play just about any hero, sometimes in unusual positions, made Wings impossible to draft against, and their versatility was paired with an aggressive mindset, with Wings rarely willing to simply farm and wait. Faith_bian himself played 19 different heroes at The International 2016, including a flexible [[||link=Faceless Void|class=noprint pixelart]] (who could be also be played by teammate shadow to devastating effect), and an ill-advised [[||link=Techies|class=noprint pixelart]] in a match loss against Digital Chaos in the first round. Wings met Digital Chaos once again in the Grand Finals, both teams having captivated the community for their runs, but Wings proved to be too strong, deservedly winning 3-1, securing them the Aegis.

EHOME

After winning The International, Wings followed it up by winning Northern Arena BEAT Invitational, but inconsistency began to creep in again, with middling-finishes for the rest of 2016 and start of 2017. Additionally, internal politics meant that the team disbanded, reforming as Team Random; however, the dispute had taken a toll, and Wings limped to a poor 9th-16th finish at The Kiev Major 2017.

After a short break, Faith_bian joined EHOME ahead of The International 2017: China Qualifier. Although they failed to qualify, this started a new three-year chapter in Faith_bian's career with EHOME. Initially, however, although Faith_bian was able to prove himself once again as a player, success eluded often EHOME, establishing themselves as the "best of the rest" in China, but rarely being able to break that wall. In 2019, however, EHOME managed to win The Bucharest Minor, and finished a solid 5th-6th in the ensuing Chongqing Major. However, they were unable to turn this into momentum for The International 2019: China Qualifiers, finishing 3rd and missing out on qualification.

PSG.LGD

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Faith_bian stayed with EHOME, once again stuck behind better teams in China. In September 2020, one of those teams, PSG.LGD, chose to rebuild their team, signing Faith_bian, Ame, y` and coach xiao8, whilst NothingToSay and XinQ joined on loan. This new roster quickly became the strongest team in China, rarely finishing outside of the top 2 in their region. With the return of the Dota Pro Circuit in 2021, PSG.LGD were also able to prove themselves internationally, securing 3rd in the Singapore Major, 1st in the WePlay AniMajor, 2nd at ESL One Fall 2021 and 1st at OGA Dota PIT Invitational.

PSG.LGD entered The International 2021 as one of the favourites. Furthermore, PSG.LGD had seemingly developed the tournament meta by themselves, with Faith_bian showing dominance on [[||link=Magnus|class=noprint pixelart]] and [[||link=Lycan|class=noprint pixelart]] , the latter of which was often combined with Ame's [[||link=Tiny|class=noprint pixelart]] , where Faith_bian would farm [[File:|20px|link=Aghanim's Scepter|class=noprint]] to grant to Tiny. After a near-perfect Group Stage (finishing 7-1-0), PSG.LGD proceded to steamroll the playoffs to the Grand Final. Here, they met Team Spirit, who had made a run through the lower bracket after being sent there by Invictus Gaming in the first round. Team Spirit had broken the Lycan-Tiny combination by Team Secret in the Lower Bracket Final, setting up an intriguing match.

Team Spirit unexpectedly took a 2-0 lead, choosing to deny Ame his Tiny in both matches. PSG, however, fought-back, taking game 3 thanks to NothingToSay's [[||link=Tinker|class=noprint pixelart]] , and game 4 thanks to an utterly-dominant laning phase. In game 5, Team Spirit chose to bravely give PSG.LGD their Lycan-Tiny combo, in exchange for guaranteeing Collapse his [[||link=Magnus|class=noprint pixelart]] . Team Spirit were able to successfully-blunt the Lycan Aghanim's Scepter timing, and slowly gain momentum due to their better late-game scaling on [[||link=Terrorblade|class=noprint pixelart]] . Faced with few good options, PSG.LGD fought a last-gasp effort at Roshan's Pit, but it was not enough, with Faith_bian being denied his second Aegis that had looked inevitable.

Despite the heartbreak, PSG.LGD chose to stick together for the upcoming season. Their regional dominance continued, but COVID-19 lockdown restrictions limited their exposure internationally. Nevertheless, they secured 1st at Riyadh Masters 2022, and 2nd at the Arlington Major 2022, sharing the top two spots with old rival Team Spirit. At The International 2022, however, PSG.LGD disappointed, seemingly unable to get a handle on the tournament meta, never hitting their top form. Although they secured an upper bracket spot, they were quickly sent down by Team Secret, where they were eventually eliminated by Team Aster to finish joint 5th-6th.

Just prior to the conclusion of The International 2022, he revealed his intention to retire, with his team PSG.LGD announcing it on November 30, 2022. He also revealed his intention to become a pianist, wanting to perform Johann Sebastian Bach's Goldberg Variations.

Return

In December 2023, he returned to the competitive scene by joining Azure Ray, changing his ID to "Bach".

Talent career

Faith_bian made his debut as an analyst at The International 2019, on the Chinese-panel. Due to his English-speaking skills, he also made an appearance on the English-speaking panel at ESL One Berlin Major 2023 as a guest, analysing a series between Team Aster and Team Liquid, to much praise by the English-speaking community. He was also an English-speaking analyst at Riyadh Masters 2023, in a full-time role.

Trivia

• Reached 10,000 MMR on September 6, 2021.
• Had the most undefeated games on a hero in The International 10, where he went 6-0 on his Magnus.

Gallery

• 

  Faith_bian at ESL One Manila 2016
• 

  Faith_bian in EHOME (2017)
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  Faith_bian in EHOME (2018)
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  Faith_bian at The International 2021
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  Faith_bian at PGL Arlington Major 2022
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  Faith_bian at The International 2022
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  Bach at Riyadh Masters 2024
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  Bach at PGL Wallachia Season 3 (2025)

External Links

• Jäger account ID: 1609381594