After a pause in Overwatch League signings due to American Thanksgiving, the Asian teams are starting to announce more. The Chengdu Hunters have signed support Cao “Farway1987” Jiale and tank Qiu “GA9A” Jiaxin. Both formerly of Team CC, these Chinese players have both built interesting careers to this point. These experiences have led them to be signed by Chengdu, the only all Chinese roster in the Overwatch League.
【🐼ANNOUNCEMENT】
Let’s welcome Support of Chengdu Hunters—-FARWAY1987 (Jiale Cao)！#ChengduHunters #LetsGoHunt pic.twitter.com/OEC2N3aNfl— Chengdu Hunters (@ChengduHunters) November 27, 2020
Farway1987’s path to Chengdu
Out of these two signings, Farway1987 has the more interesting story. He started by playing for Miracle Team One, back when the classic APAC Premier Series still existed in Korea. As a team, he finished low at the end of 2017. Afterwards, when playing for China in the 2017 World Cup, the team got eliminated in the quarterfinals by team France. After playing for LGD Gaming for one season, finishing second, he retired from professional Overwatch. However, over a year later, he came back into the league for Team CC. In doing so, he led them to six finals appearances, and two title wins. His Zenyatta and Ana are amazing, and were shown to be just that during the last Contenders China season, where his team lost a close game to Flag Gaming.
GA9A’s path to Chengdu
【🐼ANNOUNCEMENT】
Let’s welcome Tank of Chengdu Hunters—-GA9A (Jiaxin Qiu)！#ChengduHunters #LetsGoHunt pic.twitter.com/Y4eTFDj9Ww— Chengdu Hunters (@ChengduHunters) November 27, 2020
While GA9A also played most recently for Team CC, his path there was different. He ended up starting for Chinese team Future Group, but moved to LGD Gaming not too long after Farway1987 retired. In that first season, the team reached the semi-finals. However, after a tournament where he faced RunAway and lost in the finals, he ended up moving teams again — this time, to Team CC. After a slow start, and after Farway1987 joined in, the team improved. Same as mentioned earlier, the team finished very well and won two titles. GA9a, known as GaGa originally, primarily played Wrecking Ball and Reinhardt. These two heroes seem regular choices for the coaching staff, so the signing makes sense.
Are the changes enough?
Chengdu has been an enigma of a team since their creation. They have the capabilities to surprise great teams constantly, but don’t always compete. The best example of this was their final game of last season, almost upsetting the New York Excelsior. However, the team’s performance from first season to second was worse. Their surprise strategies and refusal to play what people expect worked better in their first season. Now, teams know that they’ll run what they want, and adapt accordingly. When it comes to these signings, they bring talent from Team CC to the Overwatch League. Especially with their experience together, this should make the core better for Chengdu. However, the coaching will be what makes this impactful or not for next season.
