EDward Gaming officially announced on Wednesday, August 6, that Hsien “S1mon” Meng-Hsun is no longer under contract, following several months on EDG’s bench. According to sources close to Sheep Esports, after being released on by the Chinese organization, S1mon is set to join Any Questions for the upcoming Chinese Ascension tournament. This move was first reported by GoogGoogGame on Bilibili.

World Champion in 2024, the Taiwanese Initiator had been inactive in the VCT CN circuit, sidelined since EDward Gaming’s 2-0 loss to Nova Esports during the group stage of Stage 1. Despite a strong showing at Masters Bangkok, the team eventually decided to make changes, bringing in Zhang “Jieni7” Juntai from EDG’s academy to replace S1mon. According to statements released after his benching, EDG’s management accused him of being lazy and having major communication issues with the rest of the team. In response, S1mon firmly denied these claims, insisting he was still working hard and remained committed.

In a good position

He is now expected to join Any Questions, a Tier 2 team competing in the Chinese VALORANT scene. After strong performances in the China National Competition Seasons 3 and 4, AQ appears to be in a good position to qualify for Ascension CN, having both the circuit points and meeting Riot’s requirements for being a player-supported organization. Any Questions is real organization, co-founded by EQ118, a well-known Chinese streamer, and the rapper 艾福杰尼 (After Journey).