Priya Venkatesh has been following the money in esports since before brand deals were considered legitimate marketing. She got pulled into the scene through competitive fighting games and eventually found herself more interested in the contracts and partnerships behind the tournaments than the matches themselves. These days she focuses on how brands navigate esports sponsorships, where the smart money is going, and which deals are actually built to last versus the ones that look good in a press release.
Team Tidebound has returned to competitive Dota 2 after a 10-month hiatus, with Ning “ xiao8 ” Zhang coaching its roster for the 2026-2027 season.
The lineup brings back four players from Tidebound’s The International 2025 roster: carry Xuanang “ Shiro ” Guo, mid laner Cheng “ NothingToSay ” Jin Xiang, position 4 support Hao “ plAnet ” Lin and position 5 support Yiping “ y` ” Zhang. Veteran offlaner Haiyang “ Yang ” Zhou completes the five-player team.
GosuGamers reported that Tidebound shared the roster through its official Weibo account. The organisation had been inactive since December 2025, after placing seventh-eighth at TI 2025.
The roster combines its four returning players with Yang in the offlane, while xiao8 takes the coaching role. Tidebound’s announcement marks its return to competition following the 10-month break.
The return is among the latest developments in the post-TI 2026 roster shuffle. According to GosuGamers, xiao8 and NothingToSay last competed for Xtreme Gaming . xiao8 departed before TI 2026, while NothingToSay was released in early September after the team failed to advance from the group stage.
Shiro and y` most recently played for Vici Gaming , which disbanded after losing in the TI 2026 elimination stage. Team Resilience was plAnet’s previous team; he left in late August after its elimination-stage defeat.
Yang last represented Team Refuser , which finished fourth in the Chinese regional qualifier and missed TI 2026. The new Tidebound lineup therefore reunites four players from the organisation’s previous International roster while adding an offlaner from another team in the Chinese scene.
The roster’s return puts Tidebound back in the competition as teams rebuild for the 2026-2027 season. Its next appearances will establish when the lineup makes its competitive debut.