Chengdu Hunters

Chengdu Hunters (simplified Chinese: 成都猎人; traditional Chinese: 成都獵人; pinyin: Chéngdū Lièrén) is a Chinese professional Overwatch esports team based in Chengdu, China. The Hunters compete in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's Pacific West Division.

Chengdu Hunters
成都猎人

Founded	September 7, 2018
League	Overwatch League
Division	Pacific
Team history	Chengdu Hunters (2018–present)
Based in	Chengdu, China
Arena	Wuliangye Chengdu Performing Arts Centre
Colors
Owner	Huya Inc.
Head coach	Wang "RUI" Xingrui
General manager	Chen "Cc" Jiancheng
Affiliation(s)	Team Chaser
Main sponsor	Huya
Website	Official website
Uniforms
Current season

Chengdu Hunters
Simplified Chinese	成都猎人
Traditional Chinese	成都獵人
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Chéngdū Lièrén

Founded in 2018, Chengdu Hunters began play as one of eight expansion teams in 2019 and is one of four professional Overwatch teams in China. The team is owned by Huya Inc., a Chinese interactive broadcast platform. The Hunters have an academy team playing in Overwatch Contenders; the team, LGE.Huya, is owned by LinGan e-Sports Club. The team will host homestands at the Wuliangye Chengdu Performing Arts Centre.

Franchise history

OWL expansion

On September 7, 2018, Activision Blizzard announced that domestic game livestream platform Huya had purchased an expansion team based in Chengdu for Overwatch League's second season.[1][2] On November 11, the team revealed their team name as Chengdu Hunters.[3]

Inaugural season

Chengdu's first ever regular season OWL match was a 3–2 victory over the Guangzhou Charge on February 15, 2019.[4] After posting three consecutive 3–4 records for the first three stages, the Hunters failed to qualify for any of the Stage Playoffs.[5] A 4–3 record in Stage 4 gave Chengdu 13–15 record for the season and qualified them for the Play-In Tournament, where they were eliminated in the first round by the Guangzhou Charge by a 1–4 scoreline.[6]

Team identity

On November 12, 2018, the Chengdu Hunters brand was officially unveiled. The team name was chosen "as a symbol of the team’s dedication to pursuing the honor of the league." The logo, a black and gold giant panda, was chosen because "it is the national treasure of China, the symbol of Chengdu, and a symbol of peace and good luck. At the same time, the panda also boasts powerful fighting strength and represents the Chinese spirit of perseverance, and collectively with the team’s name, represents the team’s determination to achieve victory." The colors represent vigor and steadiness, and contain the main colors of Huya and NRG, meant to represent the collaboration of the two companies.[7]

Home arena

• Wuliangye Chengdu Performing Arts Centre (2020)[8]

Personnel

Current roster

Chengdu Hunters roster
Players	Coaches
Role No. Handle Name Nationality Damage 23 leave  Huang Xin  China  Damage 9 Jimmy  Lei Yuija  China  Damage 24 JinMu  Yi Hu  China  Damage 99 Kaneki  Liu Nian  China  Tank 5 Ameng  Ding Menghan  China  Tank 46 GA9A  Qiu Jiaxin  China  Tank 3 Elsa  Luo Wenjie  China  Tank 64 LateYoung (TW)  Ma Tianban  China  Support 10 Nisha  Tan Li  China  Support 29 Yveltal (TW)  Li Xianyao  China  Support 87 Farway1987  Cao Jiale  China	Head coach Wang "RUI" Xingrui Legend (C) Team captain (2W) Two-way player (I) Inactive (S) Suspended Injury/Illness Latest roster transaction: November 27, 2020.

Head coaches

Chengdu Hunters head coaches
Handle	Name	From	To	Span	Ref.
Rui	Wang Xingrui (王星睿)	November 26, 2018	November 17, 2019	356 days	[9][10]
Dokkaebi	Wu Xiuqing	January 14, 2020	July 27, 2020	195 days	[11] [12]
Ray	Chang Chia-Hua	January 14, 2020	September 18, 2020	248 days	[11] [13]
Chen	Chang Chia-Hua	July 27, 2020	September 18, 2020	53 days	[14][15]
Rui	Wang Xingrui (王星睿)	September 18, 2020		133 days	[16]

Awards and records

Seasons overview

Season	P	W	L	W%	MW	ML	MT	MD	Pos. (league)	Pos. (conf.)	Playoffs	Earnings
2019	28	13	15	.464	55	66	1	-11	12th	8th	Not eligible	$0
2020	21	7	14	.333	33	47	1	-14	14th	9th	Not eligible	$15,000

Individual accomplishments

All-Star Game selections

• Yveltal (Li Xianyao) – 2019
• Ameng (Menghan Ding) – 2019, 2020
• JinMu (Yi Hu) – 2019

Academy team

On January 27, 2019, LinGan e-Sports Club announced their partnership with the Chengdu Hunters and became the academy team. LinGan e-Sports changed the name of their Overwatch team to LGE.Huya.[17]

References

1. Rand, Emily (September 7, 2018). "Overwatch League reveals Toronto, Paris, and four other new franchises". ESPN. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
2. Carpenter, Nicole (September 7, 2018). "It's official: All 8 new teams coming to Overwatch League have been revealed". Dot Esports. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
3. Byers, Preston (November 11, 2018). "Chengdu's Overwatch League team reveals its name and logo—Chengdu Hunters". Dot Esports. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
4. August, Charlotte (February 16, 2019). "Overwatch Esports: Overwatch League Day 2 Recap". ESTNN. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
5. M., Admir (July 30, 2019). "Chengdu Hunters announce signing of hot prospect and OWWC star Leave". win.gg. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
6. "Charge, Dragons advance in OWL play-in tourney". ESPN. Rueters. August 31, 2019. Retrieved September 30, 2019.
7. "Huya Announces Brand New Team—Chengdu Hunters—for 2019 Overwatch League Season" (PDF). Overwatch League. November 11, 2018. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
8. Hayward, Andrew (August 21, 2019). "Update: Five More OWL Teams Confirm Homestand Venues". The Esports Observer. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
9. Chengdu Hunters (2018-11-26), Roster Announcement, retrieved 2018-11-27 – via Twitter
10. McHale, Violet (November 17, 2019). "Chengdu Hunters Head Coach Announces Departure". The Game Haus. Retrieved November 17, 2019.
11. "Hunters officially add Leave in revealing 2020 roster". Reuters. January 15, 2020. Retrieved January 16, 2020.
12. Chengdu Hunters. "(Translated from Mandarin) From now on the coaching staff, Dokkaebi (Wu Xiuqing) will step down as the co-head coach of the Chengdu Hunters. I wish you all the best in the future!". Weibo. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
13. Chengdu Hunters. "In the past two years with the Hunters, Coach Ray and the team have experienced ups and downs together. We thank him for his hard work during his tenure, and sincerely wish him all the best in the future!". Twitter. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
14. Chengdu Hunters. "(Translated from Mandarin) The coaching staff welcomes coach Chen!". Weibo. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
15. Chengdu Hunters. "We are incredibly grateful for the changes and surprises brought to the team by Coach Chen, and we sincerely hope that everything goes well for him in his future!". Twitter. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
16. Chengdu Hunters. "Welcome home, RUI!". Twitter. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
17. "LinGan e-Sports partners with Chengdu Hunters". Weibo (Chinese). Retrieved 12 April 2019.

External links

• Official website