Perhaps by now, many League of Legends viewers still remember the incident where FunPlus Phoenix was eliminated early at Worlds 2021, just after the group stage. Notably, they were the first LPL team in the history of Worlds to suffer 4 consecutive losses in the group stage’s second round. This defeat brought numerous consequences, primarily the criticisms directed at FPX players.
Considered a championship contender, even though FPX stumbled in the LPL Summer 2021 finals against EDward Gaming, no one expected the Phoenix’s journey in Iceland to end in such an embarrassing manner. In this defeat, the duo Doinb – Tian, especially FPX’s jungler, was the most criticized.
FPX disbanded, and Tian joined Top Esports to replace Karsa. He left behind many doubts, and initially, Tian was not TES’s top choice. However, after veteran Xiaopeng unexpectedly dropped in performance, Tian made a return and became a cornerstone for TES’s victories. TES’s standing after the group stage (5th place) heavily benefited from Tian’s contributions.
Additionally, another factor is that Tian performed exceptionally well in matches against his former teammates at FPX. Except for Nuguri, who has temporarily retired from competition and left the LPL, no former FPX player could secure a victory against TES in Spring 2022 this year. Notably, Tian and TES were the ones to