The former Rare Atom duelist James “NoMan” Man has officially joined XLG for the upcoming VCT CN Stage 2.
CHINA – XLG (Xi Lai Gaming) have officially picked up James “NoMan” Man, formerly of Rare Atom, to complete their roster heading into VCT CN Stage 2, as confirmed by VALORANT Esports CN. The move follows the recent departures of Yip “YOU” Man-ho and Zhang “Midi” Jiajun.
The 20-year-old joins as a free agent after a brief run with EMEA-based ESC Gaming, where he appeared in three matches during VALORANT Challengers NORTH/EAST Split 1. NoMan has spent the past couple of years competing in tier-two/three and collegiate EMEA circuits while pursuing his studies in the United Kingdom.
NoMan first appeared under the radar in 2021, competing in Challengers HK/TW under the All Born to Clutch banner. His breakthrough, however, came the following year with Oblivion Force, where he helped the team qualify for the 2022 APAC Challengers Stage 1 event by finishing top two and winning Challengers HK/TW Stage 1 against Pong “SiuFatBB” Ka-hei’s Griffin E-Sports.
ALSO READ: Midi steps down from XLG
In 2023, he made the jump to the EMEA region, playing with a variety of mixed rosters for tier-two/three and collegiate events. By late 2024, he was called up by Rare Atom to help in their second bid for a VCT CN League spot, teaming up with now-DRX player No “free1ng” Ha-jun and Global Esports’ Go “UdoTan” Kyung-won. Despite an early victory over XLG in the upper final, their campaign ended just short as they fell to the same team in the all-important grand final.
NoMan now joins XLG as a resident player in the VCT CN League thanks to his dual nationality and will communicate in English, a fitting addition for the team following communication issues during their previous experiment with Midi as mentioned by coach Aleksandr “hvoya” Eremin during the VCT Masters Toronto post-match press conference. With XLG already using English in team comms, NoMan’s arrival is seen as a seamless and natural fit for the roster.
His exact role on the roster is still unknown, though NoMan has primarily played as a duelist, with some experience flexing onto initiators when needed.
XLG had previously made history as the first team outside of EDward Gaming to win a VCT CN title, taking down Bilibili Gaming in the Stage 1 grand final after earlier victories over Wolves Esports and EDG. However, the roster changes and language barriers seemed to disrupt the cohesion and momentum built during their earlier domestic run in Beijing and Shanghai. They were eliminated early at VCT Masters Toronto without taking a single map against two Americas squad Sentinels and G2 Esports.
NoMan was spotted arriving in Shanghai earlier this week, and a contract teaser GIF was posted on Twitter shortly after by the player. VALORANT Esports CN confirmed his addition to the roster today, while the official announcement by the organization is set to take place soon.
XLG’s next campaign is scheduled to be VCT CN Stage 2 Group Stage where they will debut their new starting five on Saturday, July 5th at 17:00 GMT+8 against All Gamers.
XLG now have:
- Arthur “Rarga” Churyumov
- Deng “happywei” Minwe
- Colin “coconut” Chung
- Ran “Viva” Lifan
- James “NoMan” Man
- Aleksandr “hvoya” Eremin (Coach)
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Cover photo courtesy of VCT CN
