After becoming one of China’s cult Hearthstone heroes, Zhang “Chaoshen” Chaojun has finally signed with a team after months of speculation.
Chaojun has signed with Team Celestial, the team formed by DreamHack Summer 2015 champion Wang “TiddlerCelestial” Xieyu. The team pursued him for a number of months, but the player’s future was in doubt.
Chaojun shot to prominence during the Gold Series CN vs NA Challenge. As part of the Chinese side where big names like Shen “MieGod” Yang faltered, Chaojun managed victories over world champion James “Firebat” Kostesich and a pair of wins over David “Dog” Caero to finish with a record of 7-3 over the three rounds—the best in the team.
He had been tipped as one to watch at this year’s World Championship, but failed to make it through through the Chinese regional qualifier.
A math Ph.D. student at one of China’s most prestigious universities, Chaojun had planned to step back from competitive Hearthstone at the end of the year and rebuffed the advances of a number of teams—including Celestial. However, the team now has its man, and according to manager Sinn Tann, the player will not be retiring after all.
Celestial has one of the largest rosters in competitive Hearthstone, operating a two-tier team. Xieyu, Chaojun, Guo “Zihao” Zihao, Hong “Zoro” Yijie, Chu Shih “FrozenIce” Kuang of Taiwan, and Canadian Austin “SilentStorm” Li make up the international roster, with another group of players representing the team at a national level.
