Now that the Overwatch League has entered the off-season, rosters are changing and adjusting every single day. With all these swaps, it can be difficult to keep up, so below is a comprehensive rundown of all the moves this week.
Cleaning House
On Monday, October 21, the London Spitfire completely revamped their coaching staff by promoting Assistant Coach Cheolyong “Agape” Hong to Head Coach. Additionally, Hyeon-sang “Pavane” Yu, former Head Coach of the NYXL, along with Sung-hoon “aWesomeGuy” Kim, and Young-bin “Twinkl” Lim have taken Assistant Coach positions. These changes will be beneficial for the London Spitfire next season as it builds a solid coaching staff in preparation for rebuilding its roster.
The Boston Uprising shocked everyone, dwarfing the London Spitfire news, by releasing six players in one day. Damage player Do-hyung “Stellar” Lee, tank Richard “rCk” Kanerva, and support players Zion “Persia” Yang, Renan “alemao” Moretto, Minseok “AimGod” Kwon and Kristian “Kellex” Keller. While the move was understandable, as four of them were support players, this was nevertheless a huge move. On Monday, the Boston Uprising had just four players on their roster, but that didn’t last for long. On October 22 they traded star player Jeffrey “blasé” Tsang to the Houston Outlaws.
In less monumental news, the Philadelphia Fusion let Alberto “neptuNo” González go on October 25, and the following day, damage player Josh “Eqo” Corona was released.
A Dynasty Rising
Immediately after Overwatch League Season 2, rumors about Joon-yeong “Profit” Park and Jae-hee “Gesture” Hong being traded away from London Spitfire spread like wildfire. To most, this seemed crazy since the London just rebuilt their coaching staff. On October 22, the London Spitfire did finally trade Profit and Gestur to the Seoul Dynasty. This was the most important move of the week, possibly the entire offseason. Now holding Dong-eon “FITS” Kim, Je-min “ILLICIT” Park, Byung-sun “Fleta” Kim, Profit, and Gesture in their roster as damage players, the Dynasty looks set to have a scary 2020 Overwatch League.
The Season of Change
October 23 featured numerous small announcements and a single hefty one from the Paris Eternal. Yong-Jin “YOUNGJIN” Jin was released from the Shanghai Dragons surprisingly; Indy “SPACE” Halpern got traded to the L.A. Gladiators. Brady “Agilities” Girardi left the L.A. Valiant and Ho-Sung “TTuba” Lee was picked up by Washington Justice. Young-seo “KariV” Park was traded to the Toronto Defiant, while both Finley “Kyb” Adisi and Elijah Hudson “Elk” Gallagher were released by the Philadelphia Fusion.
But the big news was Paris Eternal lightening their load for the 2020 season by parting ways with Finnbjörn “Finnsi” Jónasson, Karol “Danye” Szcześniak, Roni “LhCloudy” Tiihonen, and George “ShaDowBurn” Gushcha. This move was surprising as it seemed the team made progress throughout the season, but still opted for the change. The following day on the October 24, the Paris Eternal added Chung-Hyeok “Levi” Jeong, Jaeyoon “Aid” Go, and Hee-won “Rush” Yun on to their coaching staff, while simultaneously picking up the most desired damage player in Contenders.
No one expected the Eternal to drop a majority of their roster and pick up the legendary Yeong-han “Sp9rk1e” Kim. All eyes will be on him in going into next season, but if he can keep pace with his Contenders’ performance, the Eternal is in good hands.
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