xiao8 Dota 2 | ID: 45149

Zhang xiao8 Ning is a Chinese professional Dota 2 player and coach.

He became widely known after winning The International 2014 with Newbee. In March 2015 he moved to PSG.LGD, where he played on the fourth position, took several first places at Dash 1 tournaments, as well as the 3rd place at The International 2015. After a long hiatus from PSG.LGD , he returned in April 2016. Playing in the third position, xiao8 reached fourth place at The Manila Major 2016, and also placed 9th-12th at The International 2016. Before the end of the year, he was still playing in LGD.Forever Young.

At the end of 2018, he was invited to EHOME for a coaching position. Under xiao8 's leadership, the team took first place at their first major tournament, The Bucharest Minor. After finishing second at the OGA Dota PIT Minor 2019, EHOME received an invite to the closed qualifiers for The International 2019. At the qualifiers themselves, the team finished third, missing out on the main championship of the year. In the 2019-2020 season, the team made regular appearances at tournaments from Valve. During this period, the team gained a foothold at the dash-1 level in China, taking prizes at local leagues.

In September 2020, PSG.LGD management decided to completely revamp the roster - four EHOME and xiao8 players were invited. The fifth player in the team was Ame. At the DPC in 2021, PSG.LGD placed third at ONE Esports Singapore Major 2021 and first at WePlay AniMajor, which guaranteed the team a direct invite to The International 2021. Since NothingToSay had problems flying to Europe, he was replaced at ESL One Fall 2021 and the OGA Dota PIT Invitational by the team's coach. xiao8, with whom the team took second and first place respectively.

At International 2021, PSG.LGD finished in second place, losing to Team Spirit in the grand finals. The following year, the Chinese team won the Riyadh Masters 2022 beating the same Team Spirit 2-0.

In 2023, the team's results began to decline: 9th-12th place at the Lima Major 2023, 5th-6th at the Bali Major, 9th-12th at the Riyadh Masters 2023, and 9th-10th at ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023. Nevertheless, the team finished in the top 3 at The International 2023.

In February 2024, LGD participated in the BetBoom Dacha Dubai 2024, finishing in 7th-8th place. After this tournament, it became known that the club was facing financial difficulties, and the organization announced a temporary break from competition. In May 2024, LGD announced their return to the pro scene, unveiling a revamped roster. With the new player, the team participated in the qualifiers for The International 2024 and Riyadh Masters 2024, but only managed to qualify for the tournament in Riyadh. At Riyadh Masters 2024, LGD, under the guidance of xiao8, had a disappointing performance, finishing in 10th place after losing to Team Spirit in the first round of the lower bracket playoffs. The next tournament for the team was the Clavision Snow Ruyi Invitational, held in China. LGD reached the semifinals of the upper bracket playoffs but once again lost to Team Spirit. In the lower bracket, they lost to Natus Vincere, finishing the tournament in 5th place. In November, Zhang left his position as LGD coach and tried to qualify for ESL One Bangkok 2024, with his own team8, but was unsuccessful.

In March 2025, xiao8 became the coach of Xtreme Gaming. The renewed roster debuted at PGL Wallachia: Season 3, where they finished in 5th-6th place. In April 2025, the team participated in FISSURE Special and became the champion, going through the tournament almost undefeated. A bit later, the organization participated in PGL Wallachia Season 4, where it performed unsuccessfully did not reach the playoffs stage and exited the tournament in 11th place.

In May, Xtreme Gaming participated in BLAST SLAM III, where they lost in the second round of the playoffs and exited the tournament, finishing in 7th–8th place.

On May 16, 2025, Xtreme Gaming became the champion of the Asian Champions League 2025, earning $100,000 and a slot at Riyadh Masters 2025. However, at DreamLeague Season 26, the team only managed to finish in 11th place.

On June 12, 2025, Xtreme Gaming qualified for The International 2025 by winning the closed qualifier in the Chinese region.

On June 28, 2025, Xtreme Gaming was eliminated from PGL Wallachia Season 5 after losing to Team Spirit in the second round of the lower bracket playoffs.

In July 2025, Xtreme Gaming exited Riyadh Masters 2025, finishing in 12th place and earning $75,000 in prize money.

On August 3, 2025, Xtreme Gaming were eliminated from Clavision Masters 2025, one step away from the grand final. The team finished in 3rd place and earned $87,500.

In September, Xtreme Gaming participated in The International 2025, reaching the grand final of the tournament but losing to Team Falcons in the championship series and finishing in 2nd place.

In November, the team participated in PGL Wallachia Season 6 where they failed to advance past the group stage. At DreamLeague Season 27, the team finished in 4-th place, and at BLAST SLAM VI, the team didn't even make it to the playoffs. At DreamLeague Season 28, Xtreme made it to the top 4, and at PGL Wallachia Season 7 once again failed to reach the main stage.

At the end of March, Xtreme Gaming placed third at ESL One Birmingham 2026, losing to Team Yandex in the lower bracket final of the Playoff stage.

The championship of April for the team was PGL Wallachia Season 8, where Xtreme ended their run in the group stage.