Zhou ‘Yang’ Haiyang is a Chinese 21- year-old cyber athlete who is currently competing for VGJ.Thunder. He trains in Dota 2, playing the offlaner role implementing his dota strategies with his best performances on dota heroes like Clockwerk, Dark Seer and Beastmaster.
He likes to cosplay, in fact, he was all dressed up as Super Saiyan at the most recent Dota 2 Asia Championship 2018. Being a pro gamer he has to travel around the world to attend esports tournaments, so in his free time coping with pressure, he likes to relax by the pool or work out at the gym. Ending a good day the dota team and Yang love to celebrate winning tournaments with good food and wine dinner among and to finish off with their favourite dessert of mocha ice cream.
Where it all began:
Zhou began his professional gaming career playing Dota back in March 2015 with his first esports team, Vici Gaming Potential competing for them until March 2016. Yang won the StarLadder i-League Invitational 1 with his team at the time, Vici Gaming Reborn in April 2016. He was then acquired by Vici after TI 6, to continue his dream of being a part of the top dota 2 team in the world.
The Team:
VGJ.Thunder is a Chinese esports team that was previously known as Team VGJ. It was thanks to the agreement made by Vici Gaming and Jeremy Lin, the basketball player who endorsed the dota 2 team. In September 2017, the squad added a new dota 2 team from North America, VGJ.Storm.
VGJ.T have signed on a new dota 2 roster of players since 6th September 2017, consisting of Fade as team captain, Sylar, Freeze, Yang and the latest addition of ddc on loan from LFY – Forever Young.
Competition Participation:
The most recent esports tournaments that Yang and his team VGJ.Thunder have taken part in the China qualifiers such as EPICENTER XL, Dota 2 Asia Championships 2018, StarLadder i-League Invitational #4, ESL One Katowice 2018. As for the major and premier tournaments such as GESC: Indonesia Dota 2 Minor, The Bucharest Major, ESL One Genting 2018, Galaxy Battles II: Emerging Worlds.
VGJ.Thunder have had the pleasure of competing against LGD Gaming, Evil Geniuses, Virtus.Pro, Vici Gaming, Newbee, EHOME and TNC Pro Team. Their experience with these units has given them the knowledge, learning from their mistakes and coming up with new dota strategies.
Winnings:
The most recent great accomplishment yet for Yang’s professional gaming career was at The Bucharest Major. He was playing for VGJ.Thunder beating top esports teams like Vici Gaming, Team Secret, TNC Pro Team and Newbee on the way through the main event. Reaching the finals, VGJ.T lost to Virtus.Pro, to ranking in second place to take home a reward of $200K.
The second great achievement for Yang and VGJ.T was at Galaxy Battles II: Emerging Worlds. On their way to the grand finals, the dota 2 squad defeated units like Infamous and Team Spirit. The Final match saw VGJ.Thunder beat Evil Geniuses with an unbeatable score of 3-0, taking home the major title and proudly claiming a reward of remarkable $200K.
