Team Dignitas, in accordance with the latest trend of picking up high profile player-coaches, announced that former Cloud9 player Derek “DunkTrain” Arabian will be coaching the Heroes of the Storm team at IEM Katowice.

After a rocky month, Team Dignitas’ Heroes of the Storm team has finally started to stabilize. The team suffered from a revolving door of constant roster changes last year, with the latest addition of Kenn Øster “Zaelia” Rasmussen coming in just before the start of HGC 2017. As always, Dignitas managed to improve and maintain their position at the top of totem pole, but it has been a shaky and gradual process so far this year. Finishing the first half of the split in third place, they managed to secure the last remaining spot for the Western Clash at IEM Katowice next weekend.

To further improve the team’s play, Dignitas has enlisted former Cloud9 player DunkTrain to coach the team at bootcamp as well as at the event. This vote of confidence in a world class player is just the latest in a long line of similar situations.

The MOBA world has recently seen several acquisitions of former pro players as coaches. The legendary StarCraft 2 player Min Chul “MC” Jang signed as head coach of Kongdoo Monster’s League of Legends team late last year; likewise, former WCS EU champion Son Seok “Stardust” Hee was signed as assistant coach for European organization H2K.

DunkTrain has been one of the highest ranking HotS players since the technical alpha and has played primarily for Cloud9. Along with a slew of other achievements, he carries the title of BlizzCon Champion after Cloud9’s groundbreaking victory over Korean powerhouse Team DK in 2015.

Since the disbandment of Cloud9 last summer, Dunk has been primarily working as an analyst and caster, a role which has created some space between him and the extremities of the competitive environment. Nonetheless, his skills are highly valued. “We are confident that his input both during practice and on stage will be a valuable asset to our playoffs run,” the official statement read. Dunk was the key architect in designing Cloud9’s outlandish yet clever drafts and carried his team to victory more than once with his calm and collected approach to the game.

Team Dignitas has always been a team with a mind of their own, but one of their most professed beliefs is that open criticism is the best tool for improvement. Though Dignitas is likely to maintain a lot of control over their playstyle, Dunk’s input will hopefully steer them in the right direction. With Dunk at the wheel, it’s looking better than ever for Dignitas as they prepare for the competition next weekend.

For more information regarding HGC and the Western Clash, visit the official Heroes of the Storm esports site. The games next week can be watched of the official Blizzard stream and will feature teams from North America, Europe, Australia & New Zealand, and Latin America.