hvoya re-signs with Xi Lai Gaming ahead of 2026 season

Aleksandr "hvoya" Eremin has re-signed with Xi Lai Gaming , setting him up for his third straight season leading the team.

Earlier in the offseason, hvoya announced that Xi Lai had allowed him to explore his options, but after undergoing a roster rebuild of sorts, has decided to bring him back.

"The new roster looks really promising, thanks to Xi Lai Gaming for trusting in me and giving me another opportunity to step in stage along my teammates," he said.

hvoya joined XLG ahead of the 2024 season, leading the team to trophy-winning campaigns at the China National Competition: Season 2 and eventually China Ascension to earn a VCT slot for the 2025 season. With hvoya in the coaching booth, XLG's debut campaign in Valorant's top tier could easily be described as a success. After finishing 5th-6th at China Kickoff, XLG dropped just one match throughout all of Stage 1 to lift its first VCT trophy and qualify for Masters Toronto. While the team's international debut was disappointing, they had enough championship points even after a fourth-place finish at Stage 2 to qualify for Champions Paris. With fellow Ascension squad Dragon Ranger Gaming also qualifying for the event, XLG competed for a higher placement against DRG to secure its spot in VCT for 2026, and finished one step above them, going 1-2 to DRG's 0-3.

Since then, XLG has parted ways with Viva , who has since signed with Trace Esports , and signed veteran Lysoar to round out its five-man roster.

hvoya's position as XLG's head coach was his first coaching role, which followed a lengthy playing career in Europe. He started his career in 2020, playing for teams like Russia's CrowСrowd , AG , and Team Singularity , Spain's KPI Gaming , France's beGenius , India's Reckoning Esports , and Germany's Irregulars .

• Liang "Lysoar" Youhao (梁优好)
• James "NoMan" Man
• Arthur "Rarga" Churyumov
• Deng "happywei" Minwei (邓闵维)
• Colin "coconut" Patrick Chung (钟弘祖)
• Yang "Arty" Zhe (杨喆) (Manager)
• Aleksandr "hvoya" Eremin (Head coach)
• Tao "Coffin0" Yumeng (陶禹萌) (Staff)