Bach

Zhang "Bach" Ruida (born March 21, 1998), also known throughout his career as Faith_bian, is a Chinese professional Dota 2 offlaner currently playing for Vici Gaming. At 28 years old, Bach is one of the most decorated players in the history of Chinese Dota—a TI6 champion, close to $4 million in career earnings, and a player who retired to pursue a career as a pianist and then came back anyway because the game wouldn't let him go.

Early Career

Bach started with Speed Gaming.cn in 2014 before joining Wings Gaming that same year while the team was still finding its footing. He briefly left and returned to Wings in 2015 after they failed to qualify for TI5. That decision to come back changed everything.

Wings Gaming and TI6

Wings Gaming at TI6 in 2016 was one of the most creative rosters the game has ever seen—unpredictable drafts, heroes nobody expected at that stage, and a genuine willingness to try anything and make it work. Bach was the offlaner and one of the architects of that identity. Beastmaster, Magnus, Slardar—front-line heroes that created chaos and absorbed damage while the rest of the team did whatever Wings felt like doing that game. They beat Digital Chaos 3-1 in the grand final and took home $9 million. Bach was 18 years old.

His signature hero, Beastmaster, became so associated with his offlane system that PSG.LGD adopted it as one of their centerpiece picks years later. At the Singapore Major in 2021, PSG.LGD picked Beastmaster in 15 of their games—Faith_bian's hero, Faith_bian's system, applied at a new level by a championship-contending team.

The Aftermath, EHOME, and PSG.LGD

After Wings disbanded following TI6, Bach and Y stayed together through difficult circumstances—the Chinese esports federation ban and the EHOME period, where the team faced penalties and training restrictions just for signing the Wings players. They navigated all of it. With EHOME, Bach won the Bucharest Minor 2019 and reached the final stages of multiple majors. In 2020, both he and I made the move to PSG.LGD alongside Ame, XinQ, and NothingToSay under coach Xiao8.

The PSG.LGD years were Bach's best run since Wings. Multiple major titles. Dominant domestic seasons. And at TI10, the team reached the grand final, went up 2-0 on Team Spirit, and lost the reverse sweep 3-2. The Aegis was in reach. It slipped away again.

In September 2022, after TI11, Bach announced his retirement. He wanted to pursue music — specifically piano — and stepped away from competitive Dota entirely.

The Return

In late 2023, rumors started circulating that Bach was reconsidering. His wife confirmed on social media that he was thinking about coming back, then deleted the post. In December 2023, he officially un-retired and joined Azure Ray alongside FY and Ori. He said at the time that Xiao8 should "prepare to be beaten very hard" in 2024—the kind of casual confidence that only comes from a player who knows exactly what he's capable of.

Azure Ray became Tidebound in January 2025. The team finished 3rd at FISSURE Universe Episode 4, made TI 2025 playoffs, and won DreamLeague Division 2 Season 2. When Tidebound disbanded in December 2025, Bach joined Vici Gaming in January 2026 alongside y`, shiro, Xm, and eventually XinQ. VG won the ESL Challenger China Season 3 x ACL 2026 in May 2026—Bach's first team title since the PSG.LGD era.

Playstyle and Reputation

Bach is an aggressive, ball-forward offlaner who plays to dominate the frontline and create space through his own presence rather than positioning carefully. Beastmaster, Magnus, Slardar — heroes that go in and make problems happen. In a 2024 1v1 tournament at BetBoom Dacha, he was listed alongside ATF, Quinn, and gpk as one of the headline names—the kind of invitation that tells you where the community places him among active offlaners. Collapse once published a tier list of the best offlaners in Dota 2, and Bach was on it. That evaluation from one of the best in the role carries weight.

Fun Facts

Bach retired from Dota 2 to pursue a career as a pianist. He came back. The piano presumably still exists. This is either a story about the pull of the game being too strong or a story about a man who genuinely loves both things and refuses to choose permanently.

He is one of the only two members of the Wings Gaming TI6 roster who remained continuously active throughout the post-Wings era. y ` is the other one. The two TI6 champions who refused to stop are now reunited at Vici Gaming, heading toward TI 2026 in Shanghai.