XyuN is set to make a shift to his third professional esports title, following his roles as a coach in Overwatch and an analyst in Dota 2.
SOUTH KOREA – Hyun-jin “XyuN” Choi is the latest Overwatch talent to make a move over to VALORANT, assuming the role of head coach for the non-backed CELESTIAL team.
XyuN, previously known as r2der, is widely recognized for his tenure with Florida Mayhem, where he coached the team during the Overwatch League’s inaugural season. His appointment came about through the endorsement of Ha “Sayaplayer” Jung-woo, a former member of the Mayhem and now a player for T1 VALORANT.
After parting ways with Florida Mayhem, XyuN shifted his focus to Dota 2 and served as the Head Analyst & Scout for T1 for a span of one year and seven months. In this role, he helped Nuengnara “23savage” Teeramahanon and co. to achieve an impressive seventh-place finish at The International 2021, marking the best performance to date for both the players and the organization. XyuN’s time with the organization ended in October 2021, when he had to undergo compulsory military service duties in South Korea.
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(Photo courtesy of Twitter/XyuN)
XyuN subsequently revisited his Overwatch beginnings by establishing PANTHERA, a team headquartered in Seoul. He held the dual roles of team coach and owner, leading PANTHERA through the 2022 and 2023 seasons of the Contenders League Korea and successfully securing a spot for them in the OWL Opens during the spring of the 2023 season.
In this new journey in the Riot Games-developed FPS, XyuN will be at the helm of the CELESTIAL team. The roster includes former Maru Gaming duo Kim “Secret” Ha-jin and Ahn “Hermes” Byeong-wook, former Incheon OnSla2ers duo Kim “BeomJun” Beom-jun and Lee “Hate” Ye-hun, as well as former Gwangju Shadow member An “Banger” Hyung-gi to round it out.
Despite this being XyuN’s first experience coaching in VALORANT, his accumulated seven years of experience in various support roles are anticipated to provide him with the expertise to lead and develop the team to success from behind the scenes. He will also be working in tandem with Seo “MungHoon” Sang-hun, a former coach of World Game Star and Incheon On Sla2ers.
Non-backed CELESTIAL are currently progressing through the quarter-finals of the SMS CUP IN SEONGNAM.
CELESTIAL are:
- 🇰🇷 Kim “Secret” Ha-jin
- 🇰🇷 Ahn “Hermes” Byeong-wook
- 🇰🇷 Kim “BeomJun” Beom-jun
- 🇰🇷 Lee “Hate” Ye-hun
- 🇰🇷 An “Banger” Hyung-gi
- 🇰🇷 Hyun-jin “XyuN” Choi (Head coach)
- 🇰🇷 Seo “MungHoon” Sang-hun (Coach)
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Cover photo courtesy of Twitter/XyuN
