Although still among the top in the rankings, FunPlus Phoenix has clearly failed to maintain the dominating form they showcased in 2019. The loss to TOP Esports – a direct competitor for the LPL Summer 2020 championship – seems to be the last straw indicating FPX’s decline in this year’s race.
One of the reasons for FPX’s downturn is attributed to Doinb. Even from the second half of the LPL Spring split, this mid-lane star has shown signs of disconnect with the meta. The defeat against FPX is hard to evaluate Doinb’s performance, as the entire FPX team played poorly, but prior to that, the loss to Vici Gaming had the fan community “digging up” and criticizing this player.
In game three against VG, Doinb chose Galio – a champion with map control and strong team fight capabilities, but he failed to fulfill the role, leading to his team’s 1-2 loss.
After this match, some FPX fans criticized Doinb’s performance, who is known for mastering tank mages, yet could not perform well with Galio, even after securing an early kill advantage.
However, it was Doinb’s response that truly shocked many. He reacted to the fans by saying: “Those who criticize us are not real fans; true fans will just say, ‘Let’s go!’ But for those who point fingers and say we should do this and that, why not step up and be a coach yourself?”
Immediately, Doinb’s remarks left many FPX fans feeling shocked and offended, leading to a wave of criticism directed at this player for his disrespectful comments towards fans, which some even deemed insulting.
This prompted Doinb’s wife, Umi, to publicly clarify her husband’s statements. She apologized to the fans, explaining that Doinb had reacted too extreme to the criticism. Before becoming the LPL and Worlds champion, Doinb was in a more comfortable position: either no one knew him, or he was seen as a rising phenomenon. At that time, Doinb rarely faced criticism from fans.
Therefore, when confronted with negative feedback this season, Doinb experienced a crisis and had many negative thoughts. Umi also shared a message she sent to her husband, urging him to think more carefully and learn to accept mixed opinions from fans.
Following that, Umi posted another message, continuing to apologize to fans and explaining that Doinb’s comments were aimed at a segment of toxic fans who insult and criticize FPX players excessively, not the entire fan community.
Umi’s explanation seemed to help soothe the wave of anger from FPX fans, as she noted that Doinb is also under a lot of pressure, combined with his somewhat “hot-headed” nature leading him to make undeserved remarks.
In fact, many fans immediately let the matter slide and praised Umi’s handling of the situation, believing she reacted in an extremely tactful and reasonable manner, helping her husband escape this “foot-in-mouth” incident.
