Cloud9 signs Firebat, Hearthstone’s hottest free agent

After just a month of free agency, Hearthstone‘s first world champion has found himself a new team.

James “Firebat” Kostesich will join North American organization Cloud9, creating what has to be considered one of the most talented rosters ever assembled in the game.

Kostesich left Jason “Amaz” Chan’s Archon team, which he helped found in November 2014, in February. Kostesich claimed that the team had not paid him owed money and had mistreated him in their team house, which Archon disputed. The team and player have since cleared the air.

Once he was on the market, just about every team in Hearthstone—and some who hadn’t yet entered the game—wanted to talk to Kostesich. And no wonder.—with six major titles to his name, Kostesich was the top prize money earner in both 2014 and 2015 with almost $220,000 career winnings.

Kostesich represented Tempo Storm in the Red Bull Team Brawl event last month but an agreement for the player to formally to join the team was never completed.

At Cloud9, Kostesich joins the highly regarded lineup of Aleksandr “Kolento” Malsh, Cong “StrifeCro” Shu, Jan “Ekop” Palys, and Andrew “TidesofTime” Biessener. Kostesich said being part of such a star studded roster and his friendship with the four players were deciding factors.

Kostesich had been toying with the idea of remaining independent, in the vein of popular streamers like Octavian “Kripparrian” Morosan. But in the end, it a team taking care of sponsorships and other administrative requirements was too appealing to turn down.

Photo via Gfinity/Flickr (used with permission, all rights reserved)