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Report: XigN to join BTRG

by Nikhil Hathiramani

22-year old Hyun-Pyo “XigN” Lee is set to join BTRG, sources say. The ex-MVP PK player has been without an organization since September 2019.

It’s the start of the year, and like usual, it’s a time for a mass shift in rosters not only across Asia but around the World of CS:GO.

With the Asia Minor qualifiers looming nearby and the tournament season just about ready to pick up, more reports have made their way to our desk concerning the various free agents around the region. We’re only two weeks into 2020 and we’ve already witnessed the formation of a new all-Singaporean squad, xeta replacing BnTeT on TYLOO and a player swap amongst Mongolian teams.

The latest developments concern the fragmented pieces of the Korean CS:GO scene. After the announcement of their roster revamps last September, MVP PK has struggled to regain its dominance in Asian CS. The consistency and dedication among the Chinese sides have proven to be a recipe for success, and with dwindling interest in Korea for CS:GO, it makes the dream of an all-star Korean line-up that much more difficult to manifest.

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Hyun-Pyo “XigN” Lee is one of those players. Lee tweeted last September about a potential line-up with veteran Keun-Chul “solo” Kang and ex-GOSU player Hong-Gyo “jinx” Jung, going separate ways after leaving MVP PK:

Unfortunately, with the Korean scene being what it is, it’s little surprise that the players struggled to gain traction. With just over four months of trying to push for an org, Lee went public at the start of the year with his intentions to seek opportunities elsewhere:

And so we land up here. XigN has been without an organization for almost five months, and for a young player reaching what could be his peak form, this is disheartening, to say the least.

Enter, BTRG – Big Time Regal Gaming.

The mixed squad has been, for the most part, an experiment lead by ex-BOOT-d[S] member, Anthony “ImpressioN” Lim. After Lim made the move to China early last year, the team has seen multiple roster moves, and sources close to the team tell us, “these are mostly based on what Anthony sees as best.”

The biggest announcement for BTRG was bringing in ex-TYLOO member, Kevin “xccurate” Susanto. While the team managed to pull off decent runs throughout the year, they have yet to cement themselves as a true force to be reckoned with. Their biggest achievement was winning the WESG 2019 Southeast Asia Finals. Arguably, problems began to reveal themselves when Indonesian player Adrian “adrnkiNg” Setiawan was benched, which was peculiar, considering Setiawan was part of the winning squad that brought them the first place title in Kuala Lumpur. Since then, it is unclear where the team falls in terms of a solid five.

The latest ESEA Season 33 roster reveals the complicated trial and error efforts of the squad, even citing the previously mentioned Hong-Gyo “jinx” Jung as a potential contender for a place on the team.

Through all the noise however, it is clear from reports we have heard that XigN is indeed ready to join the team. What isn’t clear right now, though, is who will he replace? There is, of course, the obvious choice based purely on the actions taken against him – adrnkiNg. Some sources suggest that Eeyore may get the ax, but digging deeper one has to realize the complex nature of a Chinese based organization using an experienced Singaporean Chinese/English speaking IGL. There is room here for Chinese talent like Drea3er and zWin, access to other Asian players and a Chinese market to satisfy. But with the pockets BTRG has, it would be no surprise if the arrival of XigN makes room for an entirely new roster we haven’t seen before, featuring xccurate, ImpressioN, XigN and two more from the pool of trial players they seem to have under their spell.


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