The Swedish powerhouse ends his time as a free agent by jumping on board of one of the biggest eSport teams.
The last few months mainly bad news was followed when Hearthstone teams were named. Fade2Karma, Team Archon, Natus Vincere and Dignitas all decided to step away from competitive Hearthstone, with the latter two quitting the game completely. Luminosity Gaming was the first light in the darkness when they signed a North American superteam, but today another eSport giant dives in.
Although rumors of Jon "Orange" Westberg having found a new team had been going around for quite a while, it was only today Alliance announced it officially. By hiring the young Swede, Alliance has contracted one of the most wanted teamless European players. After Team Archon released him (only to drop its entire roster shortly after), Orange was expected to be picked up by another team quickly. Since his breakout performance in 2015 by winning two big offline tournaments back-to-back, he was placed high in many tournaments.
Erik Barge, Alliance's General Manager, states:
"I've had my eye on Jon for quite a while now, even before he took first place in ESL Katowice one and a half year ago, and I've always been impressed with both his technique and professional mentality toward the game. In addition he's also one of the most consistent players which, in a game like Hearthstone, is far more impressive than a single first place victory. I believe Jon is a perfect fit in Alliance and I'm very happy to have him represent the Alliance brand as our first Hearthstone player."
Orange himself had the following to say:
"I couldn't be happier to announce that I will be a part of Alliance. It's truly an honor that Alliance have chosen me to start up their Hearthstone division and I am giving my all to make sure they won't regret the decision. So far the interactions I've had with everyone on the team have been amazing and I immediately recognize what people mean when they talk about the "Alliance-family". For me this means that I will be able to focus on playing competitive Hearthstone and focus on my true love and passion. For you reading this it means that I will be able to stream more consistently and also I will start uploading vlogs of the events I go to together with the launch of a brand new YouYube-channel. I couldn't be more excited to start this new journey with Alliance and get to know everyone on the team as well as all the fans."