[uJeanZ]

Team Exile5 are proud to announce the addition of the ACL Sydney 2015 winner, Pigeon, to our professional Starcraft 2 roster.

The team have been on the lookout for a talented Protoss player. Being the first Protoss to ever win an ACL event, we just couldn't resist. Witnessing Pigeon's exciting performance in person this past weekend at ACL Sydney, we knew we had to have him competing alongside PiG and KingkOng.

At the young age of 19, Pigeon has already accomplished so much (as you will read in the interview below). However we strongly feel that his best day's are still before him and that he has the potential to become a world class competitor. Team Exile5 are proud to support Pigeon in achieving eSports greatness.

Upon joining the team, James "Crescendo" O'Dwyer took some time to find out some more about Pigeon, his background, his goals and what made him decide to join Team Exile5.

Pigeon, the ACL Sydney Champion. Photo: Courtesy of ACLPro

C: G'day Pigeon! Congratulations on winning ACL!

Pigeon: Nice to meet you. Thank you for your congratulations.

C: Likewise. Great to see more protoss stirring the waters in SEA.

Pigeon: Yeah me too. It's been nearly four years.

C: How long have you been playing Starcraft? Is the ACL the first tournament you have won? If not, please tell us more about your past success too.

Pigeon: My first achievement was making it to WCS round of 16 in China in 2012. I came second at the MST championship. This is a tournament for rising star players in China. I was ECL champion in 2013. This was the biggest and most significant achievement in the Starcraft 2 career to date.

In addition, I've played weekly online competitions in China. All these achievements were while I was living in China. Then I came here to Australia.

C: When did you move to Australia and what are your goals with Starcraft 2 now that you live here?

Pigeon: I moved here last year in June. I now dream about being a top class Protoss. I'm currently busy undertaking foundation studies. When I finish this, I want to be a symbol of Protoss in South East Asia.

C: Will we see you in WCS?

Pigeon: Yeah for sure. I will do my best for it. It's the best stage in Starcraft 2.

C: Tell us about Team Exile5 and how you joined them.

Pigeon: Yeah I know x5 is a famous e-sports team because I saw KingkOng and PiG, these two very good player represent for x5. When I got into final at ACL, the team manager came to have a short conversation with me and told me a bit more about this fantastic team.

After I became winner of ACL, my friend suggested that I to join a professional e-sports team as it would help my SC2 career. So I investigated some teams and finally after I discussed with x5 manager, I decided that x5 is the best choice for me.

C: Exile5 will certainly benefit from having a strong protoss on their team. Will you also start participating in the Oseanic Championship Series events?

Pigeon: Wow I didn't even know about this. It looks good. If my study schedule permits then yes I will join in!

C: What are you studying?

Pigeon: Foundation program before University.

C: When not studying, or playing Starcraft, do you have any other hobbies that you enjoy?

Pigeon: Yeah I love watching Hollywood movies and Japanese animation! Also play a little bit of piano!

C: What style of music do you like to play?

Pigeon: Just some pop, but I also like classical.

C: If you could play one song to celebrate a victory, which song would you play?

Pigeon: Probably Higher by Erik Gronwall (if I can lol).

C: Wonderful Finally, do you have anything you'd like to say to the people who will watch you play Starcraft in the future? Also, what would you like to say to your rivals for WCS?

Pigeon: Yeah, I gave up Starcraft for whole year, but I am glad I can come back and win ACL. I realize Starcraft 2 has already become a necessary part of my life, and after ACL I can feel people's passion for Starcraft 2. It's different from China, so I will continue to practice and give my audiences, my friends good result, also for rising of SEA Protoss lol.

For my rivals I would like to say, do not only focus on ZVZ anymore! Finally, I want to thank my friends from team TOT which is a social clan of Starcraft. They encouraged me to join in ACL and have helped solving a lot of problems when i came here.

Also thanks x5 for give me this opportunity!

C: Good luck with WCS! We all look forward to seeing you compete in all the local events.

Pigeon: Thank you also.


Here's a few words from x5 Dot, Team Manager:

There was a moment at ACL Sydney last weekend when a dawning realisation came over me as I watched a competition completely devoid of a clear favourite to win for the first time ever. If KingkOng were to retire to focus on his real life studies/work, and if PiG were to retire to enjoy the caster life, x5 would be left with some very big holes to fill in its pro roster. Though they both play on, its not an unrealistic possibility someday, so I am extremely happy to see Pigeon come on board as our Protoss figurehead. And in some wonderful twist of fate, more than one person has already realised his name is PiG-eon! Yes, that was totally planned...

And lastly, some words from me:

So it goes without saying that I'm super excited to have Pigeon on the team. I was watching him closely at ACL Sydney this past weekend. I had a gut feeling that he would take the prize and before the event was over, I approached him to get a general feeling of where he's at in his eSports career and what aspirations he has. Well it kind of took off from there. I'm looking forward to seeing some exciting games throughout what promises to be an illustrious career in eSports and I can't wait to cheer him on.

GLHF x5.Pigeon!!!