Panda Global’s fighting game roster grows with the additions of RayRay and MarlinPie

The already-large fighting game roster of Panda Global just got bigger — and that could continue.

Panda Global expanded its footprint in the fighting game world on Wednesday with the signings of Raynel “RayRay” Hidalgo and Kyohei “MarlinPie” Lehr.

They join an impressive roster of fighting game players. The team is currently headlined by Ryan “FChamp” Ramirez, who is the Evo 2012 Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 champion. His focus is currently on Street Fighter V, as he enters the weekend in 16th place in the Capcom Pro Tour global standings. Steve “Coach Steve” Delgado, who is captain of the organization’s Pokken Tournament team as well as a strong performer in both Street Fighter and Marvel, is also on the roster.

Super Smash Bros. Melee players Justin “Plup” McGrath and Robert “Wobbles” Wright, as well as Super Smash Bros. for WiiU players Jestise “MVD” Negron and Shane “SS” Bruce, are also part of the organization. The team also includes Eric “Esam” Lew, who plays both Smash games but has had much more success in WiiU as of late.

Aside from fighting games, Panda Global also has teams competing in Heroes of the Storm and Splatoon.

RayRay is one of the strongest Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 players in the world. He won Marvel tournaments at both Defend the North and Final Round and finished second to Nicolas “Kane BlueRiver” Gonzalez at Evo 2015. He recently became a co-host of the bi-weekly “Marvel Live!” show. RayRay also has notched some strong performances in Street Fighter V, including a top-32 finish at the 1,024-player tournament at Final Round.

MarlinPie’s name is also familiar to Marvel fans, as he is known for his stylish Doctor Doom combos in that game. However, he is also one of the strongest Guilty Gear Xrd players in the United States. He has been the highest-placing American in the game at Final Round for the past two years. He finished runner-up to Inoue “Kazunoko” Ryota of Japan in 2015, and third to Kazunoko and eventual winner Nozaki “Dogura” Ryo last month.

“With [the signings of] RayRay and MarlinPie we’ve solidified our position as one of premier fighting game [teams] in the world with one the widest and strongest rosters of any team in esports today,” Panda Global CEO Alan Bunney tells the Daily Dot. Panda now has representatives in six of the nine games that make up the Evo 2016 lineup, and that figure could grow in the near future.

“We’re still considering picking up players for [Killer Instinct, Mortal Kombat XL, and Tekken 7], so we can have a representative in every major fighting game today,” said Bunney.