How Boring the LPL Would Be Without Brother Bin

December 9, 2019 was a special day. A nobody of a young player showed up in the League of Legends Pro League with the in-game ID Bin, and the abstract scene (Chinese internet slang for absurdist, meme-heavy humor) gained a King. We call him Brother Bin.

Chen Zebin, a homegrown top laner who made the Worlds final and got a pentakill in his very first year as a pro. Hailed as a prodigy, and self-described as the world's best top laner. Just look at the career record. What a résumé!

S10 Worlds: lost the title to Nuguri

S11 Summer playoffs: lost to Ale, missed Worlds

S12 Summer playoffs: lost to Ale, missed Worlds

S13: lost the semifinal to TheShy, missed the final

S14: lost the final to Zeus, lost the title

S15 Swiss stage: lost to BB / the Indian top laner Dhokla / 369, out at the Round of 16

The people who mock and curse Brother Bin are still stuck thinking only about the games. Their view is too small. They have no idea how much fun the LPL is with Bin in it.

Brother Bin has always influenced fans and the region with the most positive attitude. He tells fans and viewers that instead of regretting the past, you're better off fighting for the future.

In 2022, Brother Bin lost to Ale in the playoffs, becoming the first player to win MSI but miss out on a Worlds title. After the match he posted on Weibo:

In 2024, Brother Bin led BLG to the Worlds final. It was a match with a lot going for it. On one side was BLG, an all-Chinese roster on a roll. On the other was T1, who had never lost to an LPL team at Worlds in history. Whoever won would make history.

In a pre-match interview, Brother Bin said:

In the deciding game, Brother Bin pulled out a Jax, the pick that wins whenever it's picked, and still couldn't beat T1. After the match, he posted on Weibo:

That's Brother Bin: League of Legends pro top laner, professional boomerang thrower, and veteran Weibo user.

These days, what's most worth watching in pro play isn't who's stronger or how competitive it is. It's who catches the most boomerangs.

Before him there was RNG's Xiaohu, smiling his way to S9. Then TES's grand slam of losses at First Stand. Then Kanavi, who said he could beat T1 if he only had teammates like Zeus, and then ended up as the only team eliminated when nine of ten advanced.

But next to Brother Bin, none of those boomerangs are worth mentioning.

In 2025, before BLG played TT, Brother Bin said in a pre-match interview:

BLG ended up in a five-game war with TT, and the deciding game was carried off 20 to 1.

After the match, the TT players said in an interview:

In the second stage final of 2025, BLG fought up from the lower bracket to face AL. In the pre-match interview, Brother Bin said:

After the match, BLG lost 2 to 3 to AL, no surprise there. In the post-match interview, Brother Bin said:

That's Brother Bin, a professional boomerang athlete who keeps giving viewers like me a different kind of fun.

I don't know where I'd find this kind of entertainment if Brother Bin retired.

The LPL hasn't won a title in years, and interest in the league keeps dropping. Right now, apart from Brother Bin's Weibo, only a Worlds win could bring the league any buzz.

In other words, Bin posts on Weibo for the sake of the league's popularity, not for himself.

Then, just two days ago, at the Esports Spring Festival Gala, in the group-stage match to decide first place in the first split's group, BLG played AL and lost again, finishing second in the group.

If Brother Bin's remarks used to have some logic to them, this year he's coming at us in a way that leaves everyone baffled.

After the match, he posted on Weibo:

In response, the commentator Guan Zeyuan posted a plea on Weibo:

I seriously nearly died laughing on Weibo. I thought that was the end of it and I could enjoy the New Year in peace and pick the fun back up afterward. I never expected Brother Bin to keep up the league's buzz even in the offseason.

Yesterday, JDG's GALA posted a set of workout photos showing his body fat percentage and muscle definition.

Brother Bin wouldn't be outdone, and posted on Weibo:

I never dreamed I'd get fitness drama in esports. Brother Bin doesn't just want to be the world's best top laner in the game. He wants to be a stronger man than everyone else in real life too.

That's the LPL with Brother Bin in it. If he retires one day, all I can say is the LPL is really finished. There won't be a second Brother Bin.

To be honest, discussing an esports pro in the category of "abstract" is itself pretty abstract.

But I can't help it. Brother Bin's talent in this department really shines.

Is Brother Bin bad among LPL top laners? Not the best, but definitely not the worst. If you wanted to rank him against Shengqiang Ge, 369, Xiaoxu, and the rest, Brother Bin might be hard to place. But when it comes to boomerangs, pre- and post-match interviews, and Weibo posts, my Brother Bin has never lost.

In the whole circle of LPL pros, is there a second Bin? I don't think so.

The people still mocking and cursing Brother Bin have no idea how boring the LPL will be without him.

If Brother Bin retires one day and devotes himself to the abstract full time, all I can say is:

Esports lost a nobody, and the abstract world gained its King for good.