XinQ Explains His Dota 2 Absence

The ex-PSG.LSD star says he is not ready to reenter the professional Dota 2 scene at the moment

It has been four months since Zhao “XinQ” Zixing picked up the mouse in front of a cheering crowd, but he doesn't feel the urge to return to the scene anytime soon. XinQ emerged as one of the top position four players over the last three years. He built a lethal partnership with Zhao “Faith_bian” Ruida in the lanes at PSG.LSD.

Why XinQ Doesn’t Want To Come Back?

Faith_bian’s departure from PSG.LSD, however, has taken away XinQ’s motivation to return to the arena. XinQ, who won the Riyadh Masters 2022 with PSG.LSD, stresses the difficulty of finding the perfect partner. He feels skeptical about whether he would actually find a worthy partner if he does decide to return to action.

XinQ said in stream that he really likes Faith_bian, so since Faith_bian is retired now, he doesn’t want to play in pro scene anymore too. he also thinks that he has already missed his best chance to win TI. Cuz winning TI requires a lot.(1/3)

— CN Dota In A Nutshell (@Tr1H4rd3rDota2) March 28, 2023

Twitter profile ‘’CN Dota By Nutshell’’, which has established itself as a legitimate source for Chinese Dota news, quoted XinQ as saying that he is not considering a return to competitive Dota 2 at the moment. He said that Faith-bian’s decision to retire has drawn out his enthusiasm. XinQ, who finished runner-up at the International 2021 with PSG.LSD, feels that his best shot at winning the International has passed. 

PSG.LSD assembled arguably the strongest team in Dota 2 history that seemed destined to win the International 10. They eased their way to the Grand Final but failed to overcome a spirited Team Spirit in the end. 

XinQ feels to go on a similar run once again, he would need to play alongside players who operate on the same wavelength as him. Great players don’t necessarily make great teammates. A team needs to find the perfect team chemistry to fulfill its ambitions. 

Even though the International glory evaded him, XinQ won several prestigious titles during his two-year stay at PSG.LSD from 2020 and 2022. The WePlay AniMajor and the Riyadh Masters 2022 are the highlights of his decorated career. XinQ specializes in taking out the opposition carry early in the game. Sometimes, he would do it all by himself, but sometimes he would team up with a midlaner to destroy the rival carry. 

XinQ and Faith_Bian are not the only star players who left PSG.LSD after TI11. Their star carry Wang “Ame” Chunyu has stayed out of competitive Dota 2 since then and did not give any indication of an imminent return.