The Chinese scene delivered a wave of roster shuffle news, including the heartbreaking disbandment of Team Tidebound.
As we head toward 2026, the Chinese Dota 2 scene has announced several major roster shuffles. This wave of news includes the disbandment of one of this year's top-performing teams, 
Team Tidebound. The region has also welcomed a secondary roster for Yakult Brothers and the formation of a new all-star team, Team Refuser.
Team Tidebound shuts down amid poor results
Team Tidebound has officially shut down, ending its impressive one-year campaign.
“After careful consideration and a difficult decision by the club’s management, we regretfully announce that Tidebound will officially become inactive, effective immediately,” the organisation posted on social media.
Formed in January 2025, Tidebound began as a hopeful stack of Chinese veterans, including The International champions 
Zhang “Bach” Ruida and Yiping “y`” Zhang, alongside established midlaner 
Cheng “NothingToSay” Jin Xiang.
The roster quickly achieved impressive results, including an S-Tier victory at Clavision Masters 2025: Snow-Ruyi, a 4th-place finish at PGL Wallachia Season 4, and a Top 6 placement at BLAST Slam III. These performances earned Tidebound a direct invite to The International 2025, making them the only Chinese team among the eight invited squads.
Tidebound continued their strong form at TI last September, securing second place in what was considered one of the wildest Group Stages in recent memory, finishing just behind regional rivals Xtreme Gaming. Despite a less convincing Playoff run, Tidebound exited in the Top 8–still a respectable conclusion to their TI campaign.
However, the team began to unravel following the off-season departures of Faith_bian and NothingToSay. Subsequent results were lackluster, with 7th-10th at BLAST Slam V and 9th-16th at DreamLeague Season 27, ultimately bringing an end to the fan-favorite lineup.
Paparazi headlines new stack, Team Refuser
Chengjun “Paparazi灬” Zhang–an iconic midlaner widely regarded as one of the best in Dota history–is officially returning to competition. After retiring in July 2023, Paparazi remained largely absent, aside from a brief stint with Vici Gaming during TI qualifiers. While many assumed it would be a one-off appearance, Paparazi has now officially joined the Team Refuser stack for the 2026 season.
On Team Refuser, he will be joined by some of the region’s most prominent names, including the support duo Jiahan “Pyw” Xiong and Cong “Dy” Ding. Shaohan “Erika” Yang will take on the carry role, while NICHOLAS LIM “zeal” ENG HAN fills the offlane position.
Yakult Brothers create secondary roster
Heading into the new year, 
Yakult Brothers are expanding their presence with significant changes to their main roster and the addition of a sister team to deepen competition. The organisation has shuffled several players–many formerly from Team Tearlaments–to form a secondary lineup known as Yakult.Tearlaments.
The main roster has parted ways with zeal and placed Yi “Emo” Zhou on the bench while he takes time to “adjust his physical condition,” according to Yakult Brothers’ official statement. Veteran Malaysian player NaNa “Moon” ♪ and experienced offlaner Sun “Srf” Runfa have stepped in to fill the vacant roles. Zhiyi “flyfly” Jin, Zhibiao “BoBoKa” Ye, and Jiang “天命” An remain in the team.
Meanwhile, the Yakult.Tearlaments roster will feature Zhen “lou” Lou, Ziliang “Echo” Xu, Kongbo “Niu” Li, TK, and Zhang “Zzq” Ziqiang, with the former two previously competing under the Tearlaments banner.
All eyes will be on these newly-formed teams as the new year begins and major qualifiers loom ahead.
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