FunPlus Phoenix Part Ways with BerLIN

FunPlus Phoenix announced the departure of Zhang “BerLIN” Bolin, who left the Chinese VALORANT roster on Wednesday, June 24, to join JD Gaming.

BerLIN joined FunPlus Phoenix at the start of the 2023 season and made his first professional appearance at VCT 2023: LOCK//IN São Paulo, having previously spent three years competing in lesser leagues and events.

The 22-year-old stayed with FPX until March 2025, helping the team qualify for two VALORANT Champions events and two Masters tournaments.

He then announced his retirement from professional play following the conclusion of VCT 2025 China Kickoff before returning for Stage 2.

Since re-joining, BerLIN failed to lead his team to much success, as FunPlus Phoenix missed out on international invites in the 2025 season.

However, the Chinese team ended the year with a semifinal run at the Shanghai Esports Masters and a bronze medal at the VALORANT Radiant International Invitational.

This year has been just as unsuccessful for FPX, who started the season with a last-place finish in VCT China Kickoff and managed just two wins in VCT China Stage 1.

In a bid to find more traction for Stage 2 and chase an invite to the season-ending VALORANT Champions, FunPlus Phoenix have opted to make roster changes.

Besides sending BerLIN to JD Gaming, FPX also announced the transfer of Shi “Ben1Ley” Benyu to Rare Atom, leaving the team with two vacant spots on their roster ahead of Stage 2.

FunPlus Phoenix have two weeks to finalise their roster before VCT China Stage 2, with two new players and an assistant coach still needed after Yao “YorkMonster” Kun left for Rare Atom on May 11.

FunPlus Phoenix currently have Zhang “AAAAY” Yang, Ou “Setrod” Tai-ken, Blendi “kovaQ” Kovaci, and head coach Nikola “LEGIJA” Ninić on the roster.

Mark Prezelj

Esports Betting Analyst

Mark Prezelj is a Slovenian esports betting analyst with over 3,500 articles at EsportBet and the founder of Lines64.com — someone who has been reading odds longer than most readers have been watching esports.

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