Tianming

Jiang “Tianming” An was born on March 1, 1996, in China. He is a veteran position-five support currently playing for Yakult Brothers and has also competed under the IDs yftx, 佞臣, and 一方通行.

Tianming played professionally for nearly a decade before attending his first International. Most players would have disappeared long before that opportunity arrived. Tianming waited—and then finished Top 4.

Early Life

Little is publicly known about Tianming’s childhood, but his professional career began in 2014 with Speed Gaming.cn. He later spent several years inside the EHOME and Keen Gaming systems, gradually developing from a position-four player into a hard support.

His early career included plenty of solid Chinese results but very little international recognition. Tianming was always around. He just never seemed to receive the perfect opportunity.

Career

His first major championship came with EHOME at the Bucharest Minor in 2019. That roster included Faith_bian and y`, but it fell apart before Tianming could convert the result into a TI appearance.liquipedia+1

After periods with Team Aster, Dandelion Esport Club, and Ybb Gaming, Tianming joined Azure Ray in 2023. Finally, after almost ten years of professional competition, he qualified for The International.

Azure Ray finished fourth at TI2023 and then won ESL One Kuala Lumpur two months later. The championship came through a ridiculous 3–2 reverse sweep against Gaimin Gladiators, giving Tianming the biggest trophy of his career.

He later represented Xtreme Gaming and Yakult Brothers, winning FISSURE Special with XG in 2025 before returning to Yakult in November.

Yakult Brothers

Tianming is Yakult Brothers’ position-five support and one of the most experienced players on the roster. His job is not to farm or look impressive. His job is to hold the team together while Lou, Emo, and Kaka play more demanding roles.

His TI2026 qualifier became a crazy story. Tianming reportedly underwent appendix surgery and initially had to be replaced by RedPanda, but returned during the qualifier and helped Yakult Brothers defeat Vici Gaming 2–0. Unfortunately, Vici later eliminated them in a 92-minute deciding game after recovering from an approximately 60,000-gold deficit. Brutal.

Playstyle

Tianming originally played position four before transitioning to position five. He describes himself as a support who prefers pressuring opponents—and openly admits that his aggression can become a weakness when his team is forced to defend. Sometimes he simply goes too far and feeds. His words, not mine.

His signature heroes include Elder Titan, Bounty Hunter, Earth Spirit, Undying, Clockwerk, Phoenix, and Disruptor. Even from position five, his instincts are still those of a roaming playmaker.

He is not the safest support in China. But when Yakult needs somebody to force the game forward, Tianming is normally willing to press the button.

Interesting Facts About Tianming

Tianming — 天命 — means “destiny,” “fate,” or “the Mandate of Heaven.”

TI2023 was his first International after almost ten years as a professional player.

When asked to name his five favourite supports, he answered: “fy, fy, fy, fy, fy.”