With the stated ambition of returning to Ascension in mind, Kr1stal has revealed his next team for the 2024 season within the CN circuit.
CHINA – XLG Esports has revealed the signing of a new CN roster spearheaded by former SCARZ and NWG player Savva “Kr1stal” Fedorov, accompanied by player-turned-coach and ex-Reckoning Esports Aleksandr “hvoya” Eremin. Kr1stal will be hoping to replicate his previous successes with SCARZ and Night Wings Gaming in qualifying for Ascension.
The initial iteration of XLG’s Chinese lineup consisted entirely of unknown players and failed to make notable progress during the China Evolution Series Open Qualifiers.
Kr1stal comes aboard after a season with SCARZ in the Challengers JP circuit, where he racked up an impressive 1.15 rating across 1533 rounds spanning Split 1 and 2. He also represented the region at VCT Ascension Pacific thanks to their win in the second Split. Despite SCARZ reaching the finals of the Bangkok event, they were unable to clinch victory, falling short against eventual champions, Bleed Esports.
While Jemkin moved to VCT Pacific’s RRQ after the tournament, Kr1stal stayed with the team for a while before eventually joining Night Wings Gaming from China. Kr1stal’s participation in Ascension CN at the same time marked his second appearance in Ascension within a single season, something that has yet to be done by any other player in any region.
19-year-old “happywei” is another NWG alumni on his way to XLG Esports after spending the entire previous season with the team, including during Kr1stal’s addition for VCT Ascension CN, where he primarily played as a Sentinel agent.
Meanwhile, Chen “MrCANI” Tingxun is known in the TW/HK scene as a former player for Anti Eco Eco Club, but he recently made the transition to the CN scene by joining TOP Esports, achieving a quarter-finalist position in China Evolution Series Act III. Arthur “Rarga” Churyumov is another high-profile name who previously represented MENA’s NASR Esports throughout the latter half of last year and Dragon Ranger Gaming for the first two Acts of China Evolution Series.
The last piece of the puzzle, “Satoshi,” remains an unknown quantity without much presence in the official circuit so far.
Taking on a coaching role for the first time in his career will be hvoya, who previously competed with India-based Reckoning Esports. Under his guidance, the team secured a second-place finish in the 2023 VALORANT Challengers South Asia Split 2, and hvoya helped them to victory in the 2023 TEC The Arena Championship against True Rippers and Grayfox Esports to close out the year.
XLG Esports have:
- Savva “Kr1stal” Fedorov
- Arthur “Rarga” Churyumov
- Chen “MrCANI” Tingxun
- “happywei“
- “Satoshi“
- Aleksandr “hvoya” Eremin (Coach)
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Cover photo courtesy of VALORANT Esports CN
