A month has passed by after the 2020 Overwatch League season ended, with teams showing no signs of slowing down as they rework their rosters during the offseason. This week's roundup comes before this Friday, where those whose contracts were not extended become free agents.
Gladiators, Charge, and Spark begin roster rebuild
Multiple teams have begun to rebuild their rosters after parting ways with their previous players since the start of the offseason.
The
Los Angeles Gladiators
Los Angeles Gladiators
OWL
Rank #13
SPACE
Indy Halpern
off tank
Shu
Kim Jin-seo
flex support
Skewed
Kim Min-seok (김민석)
flex support
birdring
Kim Ji-hyuk (김지혁)
dps
kevster
Kevin Persson
dps
MuZe
Kim Young-hun (김영훈)
tank
Moth
Grant Espe
support
signed tank player
MuZe
, flex support
Shu
, and support player
Moth
. They also added coach
Tydolla
to the team, and promoted Director of Operations Brenda Suh to general manager of the team.
MuZe will play in his first season of the Overwatch League after playing in Contenders. Shu and Tydolla were previously with the Guangzhou Charge, and Moth joins after spending nearly three years with the San Francisco Shock.
Over at the
Guangzhou Charge
Guangzhou Charge
OWL
Rank #5
Cr0ng
Nam Ki-cheol (남기철)
off tank
KariV
Park Young-seo (박영서)
flex support
Eileen
Ou Yiliang (欧倚良)
dps
MYKaylee
Zou Zijie
dps
choisehwan
Choi Se-Hwan (최세환)
dps
Rio
Oh Seung-pyo (오승표)
tank
Jihun
Kim Ji-hun
tank
Mandu
Kim Chan-hee (김찬희)
support
, the franchise signed former Shock coach
Arachne
as head coach, and released DPS’
nero
and
Happy
. They then began their own rebuild by signing four players, which include flex support
KariV
, support player
Mandu
, and DPS’
MYKaylee
and
choisehwan
.
KariV and Mandu join after they parted ways with the Toronto Defiant and the New York Excelsior respectively. MYKaylee and choiSehwan on the other hand will be rookies in the league next season from Bilibili Gaming and Element Mystic respectively.
The
Hangzhou Spark
Hangzhou Spark
OWL
Rank #8
LiGe
Jia Chengjie (贾城杰)
off tank
MCD
Lee Jeong-ho (이정호)
flex support
BERNAR
Shin Se-won (신세원)
off tank
GodsB
Kim Kyeon-Bo (김경보)
dps
Architect
Park Min-ho (박민호)
dps
Shy
Zheng Yangjie (郑杨杰)
dps
SeoMinSoo
Seo Min-Soo (서민수)
dps
guxue
Xu Qiulin (徐秋林)
tank
M1ka
Liu Jiming (刘济铭)
support
continued to sign new players, bringing in tank player
Takoyaki
, off-tank
LiGe
, and flex support
MCD
to the team.
All three will play in their first Overwatch League season, Takoyaki was with Team Diamond, LiGe was on Team CC, and MCD is also another Element Mystic alumni. LiGe also takes the place of QOQ , who parted ways with the Spark.
Mano and FDGod move to new teams
Tank player
Mano
and main support
FDGoD
moved to new teams over the past few weeks. Mano parted ways with the
New York Excelsior
New York Excelsior
OWL
Rank #6
JJoNak
Bang Sung-hyeon (방성현)
flex support
BiaNcA
Kim Dong-wook (김동욱)
off tank
FEATH5R
Lee Seung-woo (이승우)
dps
Ivy
Lee Seung-Hyun
dps
Flora
Lim Young-woo (임영우)
dps
Gwangboong
Kim Gwang-won (김광원)
dps
Yakpung
Jo Gyeong-mu
tank
Friday
Jo Min-jae (조민재)
support
and moved to the
Philadelphia Fusion
Philadelphia Fusion
OWL
Rank #4
Alarm
Kim Kyeong-bo (김경보)
flex support
Carpe
Lee Jae-hyeok (이재혁)
dps
sHockWave
Niclas Smidt Jensen
dps
Mano
Kim Dong-gyu (김동규)
tank
FunnyAstro
Daniel Hathaway
support
, while FDGod was acquired by the
San Francisco Shock
San Francisco Shock
OWL
Rank #1
ChoiHyoBin
Choi Hyo-Bin (최효빈)
off tank
Viol2t
Park Min-ki
flex support
Striker
Kwon Nam-joo (권남주)
dps
smurf
Yoo Myeong-Hwan
tank
FDGoD
Brice Monscavoir
support
from the
Paris Eternal
Paris Eternal
OWL
Rank #7
Kaan
Emir Kaan Okumus
flex support
ELLIVOTE
Elliot Vaneryd
off tank
Naga
Nikolai Dereli
dps
ONIGOD
Stefan Fiskerstrand
dps
Tsuna
Samir Ikram
dps
Daan
Daniël Vincentius Paulus Scheltema
tank
neptuNo
Alberto González
support
.
The Fusion will be Mano’s first new team in three seasons; he was with the NYXL since the inaugural season in 2018. Joining the Fusion also marks the team’s first player pickup this offseason.
FDGod was with the Eternal in his first Overwatch League season this year. He joins the team as their new main support after Moth was acquired by the Gladiators.
Fearless, Jesce, and Xzi signed to Fuel
The
Dallas Fuel
Dallas Fuel
OWL
Rank #10
hanbin
Choi Han-bin (최한빈)
off tank
Fielder
Kwon Joon (권준)
flex support
rapel
Kim Jun-geun (김준근)
flex support
Doha
Kim Dong-Ha (김동하)
dps
SP9RK1E
Kim Young-han (김영한)
dps
Xzi
Jung Ki-hyo
dps
FEARLESS
Lee Eui-seok (이의석)
tank
Jecse
Lee Seong-soo (이승수)
support
continue the Element Mystic reunion with the signing of Shanghai Dragons tank player
FEARLESS
, support player
Jecse
, and Eternal DPS
Xzi
to the team.
FEARLESS and Xzi were traded to the Fuel from their respective teams, while Jecse was previously with the Houston Outlaws and became a free agent last month.
All three of them are former Element Mystic players alongside the rest of the Fuel’s new players for next season. Jecse and the recently signed rapel also played together on the Outlaws this season.
Fate and ErsTer join Dragons
The Shanghai Dragons acquired Florida Mayhem tank player Fate to the team, and signed DPS ErsTer as well.
Fate was with the Mayhem since the middle of the 2019 season, while ErsTer recently split with the Atlanta Reign after two seasons with them.
They’re the first two players to be signed to the Dragons this season after parting ways with five of their players and trading Fearless to the Fuel.
Multiple teams part ways with players
Multiple teams shook up their rosters with the departure of many of their players, including those that were long time veterans on their teams.
The Fusion parted ways with tank player SADO , DPS Ivy , and off-tank Fury . SADO had been with the team since their first 2018 roster, while Ivy and Fury were signed during the 2019 offseason. SADO’s departure also comes after they signed Mano to the team, who are both tank players.
The Eternal meanwhile splitted with the rest of their remaining roster, which includes DPS’ SoOn and NiCOgdh , and tank player BenBest . All three had been with the Eternal since their first 2019 roster.
The New York Excelsior parted ways with DPS’ Libero and Saebyeolbe , and main support ANAMO . The three of them have been with the team since the 2018 season.
The Washington Justice then parted ways with flex support AimGod , DPS Stitch , and off-tank JJANU . AimGod was picked up by the team during the 2019 offseason, while Stitch and JJANU joined after a brief stint under 14-day contracts.
The Paris departures as well as the trade of FDGod and Xzi leaves no players left on the Eternal; they currently only have assistant general manager AVALLA on their staff.
Contenders Korea players signed to league
A number of Contenders Korea players have made the jump over to the Overwatch League for the 2021 season. Two of them that are joining are DPS
Pelican
, who joined the
Atlanta Reign
Atlanta Reign
OWL
Rank #15
Hawk
Xander Domecq
off tank
Lr1s
Kim Seung-Hyun (김승현)
flex support
Edison
Kim Tae-hoon (김태훈)
dps
Pelican
Oh Se-hyun (오세현)
dps
Kai
Kai Collins
dps
Gator
Blake Scott
tank
Masaa
Petja Kantanen
support
, and flex support
Aztac
, who was signed to the
Toronto Defiant
Toronto Defiant
OWL
Rank #16
Aztac
Park Jeong-soo (박정수)
flex support
Michelle
Choi Min-hyuk
off tank
Logix
Andreas Berghmans
dps
Heesu
Jeong Hee-su (정희수)
dps
Na1st
Lee Ho-sung (이호성)
dps
Beast
Adam Denton
tank
SADO
Kim Su-Min (뜨용)
tank
AnSoonJae
An Soon-jae
support
.
Pelican played for O2 Blast, while Aztac was on WGS Phoenix. The two of them have won Contenders Korea championships; the former won Contenders 2020: Season 1 Korea, while the latter won Season 2. Pelican is also the first pick for the Reign this offseason.
Spitfire bring in two coaches, release two players
The
London Spitfire
London Spitfire
OWL
Rank #17
Ripa
Riku Toivanen
flex support
Molf1g
Mikkel Djernes
off tank
blasé
Jeffrey Tsang
dps
Hybrid
Dominic Grove
dps
Shax
Johannes Nielsen
dps
Hadi
Daniel Bleinagel
tank
Kellex
Kristian Keller
support
began to fill in their coaching lineup by signing
reprize
as head coach, and promoting
CommanderX
from their academy team, the British Hurricane, to assistant coach of the Spitfire.
reprize returns to the league after he was dropped by the Los Angeles Valiant earlier this year. CommanderX has been with the Hurricane since late 2019.
The Spitfire also released off-tank player BERNAR and support player SanGuiNar . They currently have Glister and Fuze left as the team plans to shift towards a Western and European based lineup.
Other developments
- The
Seoul Dynasty
Seoul Dynasty OWL Rank #3 creative Kim Young-wan (김영완) flex support FITS Kim Dong-eon (김동언) dps Profit Park Joon-yeong (박준영) dps Saebyeolbe Park Jong Ryeol dps Marve1 Hwang Min-seo (황민서) tank Gesture Hong Jae-hee (홍재희) tank ANAMO Jeong Tae-seong (정태성) support parted ways with strategic coach WizardHyeong , and promoted data analyst Bongwoori to a coaching role for the 2021 season.
- The
Boston Uprising
Boston Uprising OWL Rank #20 Myunbong Seo Sang-min (서상민) flex support punk Leyton Gilchrist off tank Colourhex Kelsey Birse dps im37 Hong Jin-ui (홍진의) dps SoOn Terence Tarlier dps Valentine Kim Byoungju dps Fusions Cameron Bosworth tank Stand1 Seo Ji-Won (서지원) tank Faith Hong Gyu Kim support signed DPS im37 to the team, marking his return to the league since the 2019 season. He had also played for the Uprising Academy this year and was on loan to WGS Phoenix.
- The Uprising also parted ways with DPS Jerry and tank player Axxiom . Both of them were previously in discussions with the team for the 2021 season. Afterwards, Jerry joined the Washington Justice.
- Hocury joined the Justice as a personal coach. He was previously a coach and general manager for the Seoul Dynasty.
- The Defiant re-signed tank player Beast after he was released by them last month. Interim general manager and assistant coach Albless also departed from the team.
- The Fusion announced that DPS’ Carpe and EQO , off-tank Poko , and support player FunnyAstro will return for the 2021 season. Carpe is on the second year of a three-year contract extension that was signed back in late 2019.
- The
Chengdu Hunters
Chengdu Hunters OWL Rank #12 Elsa Luo Wenjie (罗文杰) off tank Farway1987 Cao Jiale (曹家乐) flex support Jinmu Yi Hu (易虎) dps Leave Huang Xin (黄馨) dps Jimmy Lei Yujia dps Kaneki Liu Nian (刘念) dps Ameng Ding Menghan (丁蒙涵) tank GA9A Qiu Jiaxin (仇佳鑫) tank Yveltal Li Xianyao (李先曜) support Nisha Tan Li (谭力) support added coaches creed and yaoxie to the team. creed was a coach for the Charge, while yaoxie coached for Flag Gaming.
- NYXL re-signed flex support JJoNak for the 2021 season. He is the only player left from their first 2018 roster as well as this season’s.