New season, new uniform and now, a new roster. The Shanghai Dragons announced their 2023 roster this past week, and fans are both excited and a bit intrigued. The new Dragons roster features some very familiar names, just in very unfamiliar roles. The 2023 Shanghai Dragons roster contains Kim “Fleta” Byung-sun on tank, Lee “Viper” Jung-woon and Jeong “Heesu” Hee-su on DPS, with Kang “GangNamJin” Nam-Jin and Bae “diem” Min-seong on support. Yes those names are in the correct spot, and no this is not some early April Fool’s joke.
After holding open tryouts at the start of the offseason, the Shanghai Dragons have constructed one of the most interesting rosters for the upcoming year. Starting at the frontline, the Dragons are putting their faith in the former MVP and the ultimate flex player, Fleta. Fleta returns in his sixth season of the Overwatch League after experiencing one of his more quiet seasons in recent years. It looks as though Fleta believes his best chance to help the team is to adjust his focus onto the tank role – a change many fans will be fascinated to see play out.
The other big question mark on this new roster is the support line. Long-time hit-scan specialist Diem is back with the Dragons in a new role as well, taking on support duties for 2023. The league has seen some DPS players make this transition before, typically into the flex-support slot. However this leaves the Dragons with two flex-supports as GangNamJin joins Diem in the Shaghai backline. GangNamJin played plenty of main support with New York in 2022, but he struggled mightily to make the adjustment.
Last to discuss is the Dragons revamped DPS line. After losing Lee “LIP” Jae-won in free agency, the Dragons will look to former Toronto standout Heesu and rookie Viper. After his rookie year on the Philadelphia Fusion in 2020, Heesu spent the past two years in Toronto where he served as the catalyst for many of the Defiant’s victories. While the team itself failed to net meaningful results, Heesu remained the bight spot on an otherwise middling roster. Viper gets his Overwatch League start after competing in Korean Contenders with O2 Blast. After a series of wildly successful tournament bids, Viper is primed and ready to make a statement in the Overwatch League.
Featured image courtesy of the Overwatch League
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