One of Britain's most respected players departs from team London Conspiracy.
While at the moment of writing, Danish player Simon "Crane" Raunholst is still at the Insomnia Truesilver Championship (our Coverage Hub here), today it was announced he will play under different banners. Although Crane has not yet won a major tournament, he is regarded by other pro players as one of the greater minds in Hearthstone. Last year two other hidden diamonds made a big breakthrough, with Ryan "Purple" Murphy-Root and Sebastian "Ostkaka" Engwall booking huge victories in competitive Hearthstone. Similarly to Crane, Purple and Ostkaka were, and still are, also considered to be great minds, even though the larger part of the community had never heard of them. Crane's latest tournament performance was at PGL Tavern Tales, in which he reached the top 16 after fully open qualifiers and a Swiss round. He also got very far in the European Hearthstone Winter Championships Preliminaries, although he just missed the boat there.
The full announcement from compLexity's website can be found below.
For the last months the compLexity Inn has been home to stories of conquests from veteran members like Superjj and Ryzen, but today we open another chapter and welcome the next big player in Hearthstone. We are thrilled to announce our newest member - Danish player Simon “Crane” Raunholst.
After parting with his previous team just a few weeks ago, Crane has been one of the hottest free agents on the market. His reputation as one of the most hardworking and knowledgeable players in the world has made him a favorite not only in the community, but also among his peers. As a valued member of pro practice groups Crane made a name for himself with other players like Superjj, being hailed as one the best hidden secrets in the Hearthstone pro scene today.
“We have been interested in adding Crane to the roster for several months now.” Said compLexity Gaming.Hearthstone manager Sören ‘Fantasy’ Vendsahm about the newest recruit. “His talent, his skill, his experience and his mature approach are the core values that we looked for. Additionally he is well-respected within our player base, being a practice partner of JJ and a former teammate of Sottle. We’re proud to welcome him to the team.”
It has not just been the pro players who have taken notice of the talented Dane. The public recently had chances to see Crane in action when he qualified for the third Viagame House Cup as well as the most recent PGL Tavern Tales, and made a deep run in the HCT European Winter Prelims.
As a core member of the team moving forward, we wasted little time in creating opportunities for Crane to compete. Immediately after signing with the black and red, Crane was on his way to Birmingham, UK. The newest member of the coL family will begin competition today in the Insomnia 57 Truesilver Championship alongside friend and now teammate Jan ‘superjj’ Janßen.
Please join us in welcoming the newest member of coL Hearthstone, Simon “Crane” Raunholst.