Aliv becomes first Chinese player to sign for a Western Hearthstone team

In the quest to rebuild its Hearthstone roster, Tempo Storm has looked East.

Top Chinese player Haiyun “Eloise” Tang, formerly known as ailv, has signed for Andrey “Reynad” Yanyuk’s team.

Tang is a stalwart of the Chinese Hearthstone scene, finishing in top four of the NA vs CN Masters Season 1 and placing fifth in both the 2014 Gold League and the 2010 Chinese Hearthstone World Championship qualifiers. She is also a prominent streamer and commentator, and was part of the Chinese commentary team for last year’s World Championships.

According to Tempo Storm’s official announcement Tang has been “fully transparent and cooperative” during the signing. They were also keen to stress that she had appeared at a number of offline tournaments, perhaps a veiled reference to the controversy that surrounded former Tempo Storm player Hyerim “MagicAmy” Lee. 

In February, Lee pulled out of her first offline event appearance at the last minute, causing some of her former teammates to come forward with allegations that someone else was competing using her identity. Though an internal Tempo Storm’s internal cleared her, Lee left the team and has not competed in Hearthstone since.

Tempo Storm participated in the 2015 NEL Winter season in China, and everyone, from players to management, were said to be impressed with the Chinese players.

In joining Tempo Storm Tang has begun streaming on Twitch, though she will continue to stream on the Chinese Twitch alternative, Douyu.

Image via Tempo Storm