The move to Wolves Esports reunites Lysoar and Yuicaw after playing in the 2023 season together.
CHINA – Wolves Esports have signed Liang “Lysoar” Youhao from FunPlus Phoenix and are shaking up their coaching staff with the addition of former Team Secret and XLG coach Chong “Fayde” Hoc Wah. This change brings Lysoar back together with his former FPX teammate Huang “Yuicaw” Yung-chieh, with whom he played together at VALORANT Champions Los Angeles.
Lysoar will be stepping in to fill the gap left by Australian import Christopher “pl1xx” Li, who departed the team last month. Furthermore, the coaching staff is undergoing a massive change, with the departures of all three coaches: Xie “jungleDSL” Zhilin, Chen “chaPPie” Long, and Lee “CheongGak” Il-ho, the latter of whom has returned to VCT Pacific to assist T1’s coaching staff.
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Lysoar first appeared on the radar when FunPlus Phoenix signed him in March 2023 right after VCT LOCK//IN São Paulo. He became a mainstay for the Chinese FPX squad throughout a season that led them to qualify for VALORANT Champions Los Angeles. With VCT CN debuting this year and FPX being accepted into the partnership program, Lysoar was retained and played throughout the season.
In 2024, FunPlus Phoenix consistently found themselves in the shadow of EDward Gaming, finishing in second place in KICKOFF, Stage 1, and Stage 2, which also allowed them to qualify for all three international events held this year in Madrid, Shanghai, and Seoul.
Fayde brings a wealth of coaching experience, having previously worked in APAC with Team SMG in 2021 and Team Secret in 2022 before moving to the CN region to coach teams like JiJieHao, Ninjas in Pyjamas, and recently XLG. Under his guidance, XLG won the China National Competition Season Finale in Hangzhou and the VCT Ascension CN in Shanghai to earn a promotion into the VCT CN League next season.
The Malaysian coach’s new role will bring him back together with Liu “Spring” Chun-ting, who played under him at Ninjas in Pyjamas during their bid for promotion to VCT CN via Ascension 2023, where they finished fourth. He will also reconnect with Pong “SiuFatBB” Ka-hei, whom he coached briefly at Griffin E-Sports and JiJieHao early last year.
Wolves Esports will be hoping to improve their trajectory after a lackluster inaugural season in VCT CN, during which they fielded as many as eight players at one point, ultimately finishing 7-9th in KICKOFF, 9-10th in Stage 1, and 9th in Stage 2.
Wolves Esports are now:
- 🇭🇰 Pong “SiuFatBB” Ka-hei
- 🇹🇼 Huang “Yuicaw” Yung-chieh
- 🇹🇼 Liu “Spring” Chun-ting
- 🇨🇳 Zhong “aluba” Haojun
- 🇨🇳 Liang “Lysoar” Youhao
- 🇨🇳 Zhang “V1ya” Ruimin
- 🇲🇾 Chong “Fayde” Hoc Wah (Coach)
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Cover photo courtesy of Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games
