TES 369 temporarily steps down, academy top Zuian to replace him

TES top laner Bai “369” Jiahao has announced he will not take part at the start of the LPL Split 2, which will kick off this Saturday, on April 4.

TES 369 needs time to adjust

The official announcement first came from the teamm which confirmed that TES’ academy top laner Cheng “Zuian” Zihao will be stepping into 369’s top lane position in the second split of the season. In the post, the team explained that Zuian “demonstrated clear thinking and steady execution,” and forged a solid foundation thanks to Top Esports’ youth training system.

369 himself later explained the reasons behind his temporary break through a Weibo post: “I’ve been having some issues with my performance lately and feel I need some time to adjust. After discussing it with the team, they decided to rotate players to give me some time to recover. Zuian is a very strong player, and I will help him with his experience. Once I’ve adjusted to all aspects, we can work together to help the team achieve better results.”

Zuian already had a small opportunity on the LPL stage back in 2024, when he played for Invictus Gaming. At the time, however, the team wasn’t performing at its best, and the starting spot ended up being held by Chau “YSKM” Shu Tak at the time.

Top Esports had a roller coaster start to the season

After being eliminated in the semifinals at Worlds 2025, Top Esports was looking to be one of the top contenders going into the new season. During the first split, however, the team wasn’t able to count on ADC superstar Yu “JackeyLove” Wen-Bo, who decided to sit out to focus on his health. Despite that, TES still looked like one of the stronger teams in the league, making it a clear sign that they would contend more once JackeyLove returned.

The team, however, was caught in a major controversy when its jungler Yang “naiyou” Zi-Jian was allegedly match-fixing official games. 369 had defended its own teammate initially, only to be proven wrong once the allegations turned out to be true. As a result, naiyou ended up receiving a permanent ban and brought free agent jungler Gao “Tian” Tian-Liang.

While JackeyLove and Tian’s return are definitely good signs for Top Esports, 369’s temporary leave will likely impact the team in the short run. TES will play the opening match of the LPL Split 2 against Invictus Gaming, followed by AL on Sunday.