Continuing the recent trend of organizations dropping their Overwatch teams, Rise Nation is the latest to fold.

The Rise Nation roster consistently battled other teams for their chance in the spotlight; however, remained unable to break through and win a tournament. They most recently competed in the Rivalcade Memorial Day Rumble and the CyberPowerPC Spring $5K Invitational where they placed 4th.

The official statement provided states:

We have come to terms on the release of our Overwatch roster as of today, June 1, 2017. We wish all of them the best of luck in their future endeavors.

As it stands today, we do not have any plans on creating a new roster and thus will be taking a leave of absence from the Overwatch scene. We would like to thank Activision, Blizzard, and the entire Overwatch community for their support and hospitality throughout our tenure. Although we are leaving, for now, we would welcome the opportunity to return to the scene at a future time.

Sources report that the team was not dropped due to performance issues, but rather lack of communication from Blizzard as to the future of the team in relation to the impending Overwatch League. The news came as a surprise for the players who were expecting to at least compete together for Overwatch Contenders Season Zero and planning on getting a team house if Overwatch League prospects worked out. As for now, they will now join the ever growing pool of free agents waiting to be picked up before Contenders and inevitably, OWL begin. It is possible that the roster will compete together in Contenders under a different name, potentially returning to their roots as Gecko Fox.

The Rise Nation roster was:

  • Nathan "xretzi" Telen (DPS)
  • Adam "Spirit" Wills (DPS)
  • Keith "Desro" Hospedales (Tank)
  • Mike "IVIidnight" Ryan (Flex)
  • Samuel "Locke" Latina (Support)
  • Kyle "Phaz" Phaz (Support)