Just as Stage 4 begins, the Hangzhou Spark have announced that Da-un “NoSmite” Jeong and Jun-ki “Bazzi” Park will return to the main roster. According to tweets by OW Beacon, who focuses on reporting and translating Chinese Overwatch content, the team revealed through a video on Weibo that the two players will return after briefly playing under two-way contracts with Hangzhou’s academy team, Bilibili Gaming.
According to an official video, the Hangzhou Spark has brought back Bazzi and Nosmite to the main roster in preparation for stage 4.
— OW Beacon (@OWBeacon) July 25, 2019
NoSmite, a main tank player, initially played on the Spark’s starting roster in Stage 1. Once the team fully integrated Xu “guxue” Qiulin into the fold, however, he moved to the bench. Bazzi, a DPS player known for an exceptional Widowmaker, got most of his playtime in Stage 1 as well before Hangzhou opted to start Jae-hwan “Adora” Kang instead. Both players moved to two-way contracts on June 26, and competed briefly in season 2 of Contenders China.
Additionally, OW Beacon reported that assistant coach Hang “YinDong” Gao has moved to a coaching position with Bilibili Gaming. According to the initial report, YinDong is dealing with chronic back pain, and began receiving treatment for it in Stage 2. He has since returned to China to continue treatment, and will coach the academy team while he’s there.
With YinDong’s departure, coaching the Spark falls to head coach Mu-ho “Mask” Lee and assistant coach Seung-jun “Sup7eme” Han. Notably, this also means that the team no longer has a Chinese coach working with them in Los Angeles.
Krystal Faces Disciplinary Action
Both announcements come shortly after the Spark announced on Twitter that Cai “Krystal” Shilong faces disciplinary action due to an absence without leave. According to their press release, Krystal requested to return home due to an illness in his family, and planned to return by July 15. The Spark claim that Krystal failed to contact them requesting extra time or explaining the situation, and plan to fine him for the ten extra days he stayed.
In a Facebook post translated by OW Beacon, Krystal responded by saying he didn’t know about the team’s leave-of-absence rules, and that nobody contacted him regarding extending his stay. He also explained that he only recently received his visa due to extended processing times. Despite that, he promised to return to the team immediately and “keep the mistake in mind.”
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Featured image courtesy of the Hangzhou Spark.
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