JD Gaming decided to replace midlaner Tsai "
HongQ" Ming-Hong and Jungler Yu "
JunJia" Chun-Chia with Xiang "
Angel" Tao and Fang "
xiaofang" Zhe-Yu for the upcoming
Demacia Cup, as revealed by a Demacia Cup post on Weibo shared on Tuesday. The move comes after a disappointing LPL Split 3 from the team, which failed to qualify for Worlds after losing to Invictus Gaming in the LPL Regional Finals.
According to Weibo posts shared on X by @lolvaleiker, the organization even decided to terminate both players' contracts and will use Angel and Xiaofang only for the Demacia Cup; nothing definitive has been said, and the club has yet to directly comment on the matter as of the time of writing. Angel and xiaofang have already played together for a few months, during the 2024 LPL Spring Split, with Oh My God. A few weeks before, they played their first tournament together… the Demacia Cup.
A disappointing Split 3
After the LPL competitive year, it seemed clear JDG would make changes, as the organization aims for much better results. JunJia was on the razor's edge from the start of August, when the organization
decided to sign Xiaofang. At the time, JDG had a 4-4 record in Ascend Group, a disappointing result for the team, which finished Split 1 in second place.
The situation did not improve in the Grand Finals, as they were knocked out of the Bracket Stage by losing to Team WE and Ninjas In Pijamas, 3-1 and 3-0, respectively. In the Regional Finals, they got their revenge on Team WE, but then fell to Invictus Gaming and failed to qualify for Worlds 2026.
This would mark the end of CTBC Flying Oyster’s duo in JDG, as
both JunJia and HongQ joined the LPL in 2025 after strong results in both the LCP and Worlds. Nothing, however, is certain, as the players could still renew their contracts with the team after the Demacia Cup if JD Gaming doesn’t find better solutions.
Angel returns to an international event
It's been six years since we last saw Angel compete in an international event. The Chinese midlaner was one of the protagonists of Suning’s legendary 2020 Worlds run; against all odds, they reached the grand final, where they lost to DAMWON Gaming 1-3.
After that run, Angel’s career hasn’t been very successful, as he never managed to land a spot on a top LPL team. He spent years between NiP, OMG, and EDG and never qualified for the later stages of the tournament. This will be his chance to show whether he still deserves to play for a team that aims to qualify for international events.
