Unlike many other teams that have been leaking out roster changes, the Philadelphia Fusion decided to lay it all out. Yesterday the organisation tweeted out a video of their full roster for the Overwatch League’s 2020 season. Much of the roster is returning with the addition of some fresh talent from Overwatch Contenders.
Philadelphia Staying Solid
Starting with Gael “Poko“ Gouzerch, this off-tank is well known for his clever D.Va bombs, and smart play. He has been with the Fusion since 2017 and acts as a pillar of stability for the team. Main tank Su-min “Sado” Kim will also be returning with his aggressive Winston play. Previously, Sado faced a 30-game suspension for account boosting and was unprepared for the GOATS meta upon his return.
With the implementation of role-lock, these hyper-aggressive tanks will have a heyday if the meta permits their signature heroes. Their most recent addition to the tank roster is Jun-ho “Fury” Kim, former London Spitfire off-tank. Fury switches between multiple tanks and plays consistently, even if it isn’t to the highest level. He played Zarya, Roadhog, and D.Va during this most recent season, so we can only wonder what he’ll do with new addition Sigma.
Unstoppable Fusion Supports
The Philadelphia Fusion has one of the strongest support lineups in the league as the roster stands. Returning for the 2020 season will be Isaac “Boombox” Charles, perhaps the second-best Zenyatta in the Overwatch League at one point. He embraced his flex support role in Stage 4 and swapped between Ana, Moira, and Zenyatta. At his side from the Fusion University team will be Kyungbo “Alarm” Kim, the main support player that ran Overwatch Contenders: North America for nearly four seasons straight.
In the current meta, Lucio’s speed boost is a strong skill for making your team highly mobile and deadly. Daniel “FunnyAstro” Hathway’s Lucio during the Overwatch Contenders Gauntlet was entertaining and skilful. ATL Academy defeated Team RunAway in the Losers’ Finals at the Gauntlet, knocking them out of the competition and shutting down any doubt about the potential of North America. FunnyAstro’s addition to the Philadelphia Fusion gives them flexibility and allows them to remain unpredictable.
Damage Disparity
The Philadelphia Fusion released Josue “Eqo” Corona and Finley “Kyb” Adisi in the off-season and kept hitscan legend Jaehyeok “Carpe” Lee. They recently just announced that Eqo would be re-joining the team, but didn’t appear on the roster video. Eqo performed well in 2019 despite the obvious struggles against powerhouse teams and hopefully he gets more playtime next year.
To complement Carpe’s skills, the Fusion acquired Seunghyun “Ivy” Lee from the Toronto Defiant to slash up the competition. Ivy didn’t have great luck with the Toronto Defiant during Season 2 of the Overwatch League, in part to GOATs forcing many damage players into Zary or Brig jail. If he can keep up the high-level Genji and Pharah play exhibited in Overwatch Contenders Korea, then the Philadelphia Fusion stand a chance this season.
There are still four months until Overwatch League stars up again and anything can happen in that time. Due to the announcement presenting their whole roster instead of a few changes, it is more than likely that the Fusion will try to hold onto these players. If this is the 2020 roster for Philadelphia, then they will have significantly more time to practice as a unit than teams that are still arranging rosters.
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Header Photo: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment
