The Overwatch League offseason has been hectic to say the least. With 8 new expansion teams needing to fill their rosters, teams and players alike found themselves standing on shifting ground. Through the chaos, the twelve returning squads have tried to fill holes and snag up-and-coming talent. Today we hand out report cards to the rising sophomores, starting with the back of the class.
Improvement Needed
Boston Uprising: F
Boston had a supremely tumultuous offseason. Feuds between players and management have left the team with just four returning members. In particular, the loss of Kwon “Striker” Nam-joo and Stanislav “Mistakes” Danilov left the Uprising in an awkward position. Boston is hoping its new DPS acquisitions, Jeffrey “blasé” Tsang and Kelsey “Colourhex” Birse, can quickly gel with their proven core. That will be the crucial question, but the answer will be delayed by the two-game suspension Colourhex received for account boosting. Looking at their additions, it seems unlikely Boston will reach the same heights in Season 2, and internal struggles could rear their head once again.
Los Angeles Valiant: D
The Valiant return almost all of the team that claimed the Pacific Division crown last season. Their only significant loss was Terence “SoOn” Tarlier making his way to the Paris Eternal, but the team still seems diminished. If Chae “Bunny” Jun-hyeok is up to the task of replacing SoOn, they won’t miss a beat. Still, there was room for upgrades at both DPS spots. Los Angeles must see improvement there, or their lack of action this offseason will look foolish.
Middle of the Pack
Florida Mayhem: C+
After a disastrous Season 1, the scale of changes to the Mayhem were unsurprising. Florida needed fresh blood at nearly every position, and they have it. What was once an entirely European roster now has only Kevyn “TviQ” Lindström. Florida’s additions are veterans across the board, and none stand out as bad signings individually. Jo “HaGoPeun” Hyeon-woo and Choi “Kris” Jun-soo should provide the stable support pair that was missing last year. Still, the end result is lackluster. The Mayhem don’t have the star talent needed to compete in the Overwatch League, and they did nothing to really change that. They will certainly be improved from last season, but it is unclear if they can compete for a playoff spot.
Houston Outlaws: B-
Houston has made a gamble this offseason. The Outlaws are betting on continuity and team cohesion. They are betting that internal improvement and Overwatch League experience will win the day in Season 2. The addition of Dante “Danteh” Cruz closes the Tracer-shaped hole in the Outlaws’ DPS pool. Still, questions linger after Houston’s uneven Season 1, mostly surrounding the supports. Shane “Rawkus” Flaherty, Christopher “Bani” Benell and Daniel “Boink” Pence must be better if Houston wants to contend in Season 2, and Houston’s choice to leave the support group untouched may come back to bite them.
Dallas Fuel: B-
Dallas is making like their in-state rivals and betting on themselves going into Season 2. Their wager is that their form from Stage 4 is the true Dallas Fuel. Perhaps the biggest individual change for the Fuel is the retirement of Brandon “Seagull” Larned. Seagull was the Fuel’s most consistent player, especially during their resurgence after Aaron “Aero” Atkins took over head coaching duties. Either Pongphop “Mickie” Rattanasangchod or Richard “rCk” Kanerva will claim the flex position, but the Fuel will need more stability out of the role. There are still concerns on the DPS side of things, and it remains unclear if the addition of Zachary “Zacharee” Lombardo is the answer there.
Standing Pat (And That’s OK)
London Spitfire: B
No team had an easier offseason than the defending champs. They know who they are and didn’t need to change the formula going into Season 2. Over the course of Season 1 the Spitfire whittled their roster into the six players who claimed the first Overwatch League title. They clearly do not want to keep talented players locked on their bench and causing internal strife. In that vein they picked up only two players, DPS Lee “Guard” Hee-dong and support Jung “Krillin” Yung-hoon, to reach the roster minimum of eight players. Neither should be expected to crash the starting lineup barring injury or a very serious slump. London is running it back for Season 2 and it’s hard to blame them.
New York Excelsior: B
NYXL was clearly the best regular season team during the first season of the Overwatch League. Their disappointing playoff performance made New York look mortal for the first time. They’ve responded by looking inward. Their two new additions Hwang “Fl0w3r” Yeon-oh and Jeong “Nenne” Yeon-kwan were called up from New York’s academy team, XL2. For any other team, these would be game changing pickups. For NYXL, they don’t really move the needle. This team was already stacked at the DPS position and it’s unclear what they can bring to the table that wasn’t already there. New York had the chance to add depth during the offseason. Instead they muddled the DPS picture. Still, they added talent and as long as it is managed well, that can only be a good thing.
Philadelphia Fusion: B
Another team with minimal changes in the offseason, Philadelphia added just one new member, Elijah “Elk” Gallagher, a support player on a two-way contract. Even if he never cracks the starting lineup, Elk will give them another intelligent voice during preparation, and maybe bring that experience back to the Fusion’s academy team. Beyond Elk’s addition, the only major moves Philly made were the release of Choi “HOTBA” Hong-jun and Georgii “Shadowburn” Gushcha. They’ve simplified things at both the flex and DPS spots, placing full trust in the returning starters.
Top of the Class
Seoul Dynasty: B+
Seoul’s pickup of Baek “Fissure” Chan-hyung has the potential to be the move of the offseason. Fissure will instantly fill the biggest hole on a Dynasty team that failed to find answers at main tank during Season 1. Fissure was an MVP candidate, and he enters Season 2 as the presumptive starter alongside Kim “zunba” Joon-hyeok at the flex position. Both could be challenged for their spots, however, by newcomers Hwang “Marve1” Min-seo and Choi “Michelle” Min-hyuk from Lucky Future Zenith. They, along with support star Lee “Jecse” Seung-soo, could change the face of the Dynasty dramatically. After a disappointing Season 1, that might not be so bad.
Shanghai Dragons: A-
When you fail to win a game through the course of the first season, there is room for dramatic improvement. Shanghai has already achieved that going into Season 2. There will be no winless season this time around. Shanghai needed to find a foundation, something firm to build upon going forward. They did so by picking four members of Korea Contenders Season 2 runners-up Kongdoo Panthera. For the first time Shanghai will field a squad that has proven synergy and success under their belt. Add in the returning members along with DPS star Bae “diem” Min-seong, and the Dragons start to look scary.
San Francisco Shock: A
The Shock approached the offseason with a simple strategy, to add talent and figure the rest out later. On that front, they undeniably excelled. Headlined by the additions of Overwatch League DPS veterans in Kim “Rascal” Dong-jun and Striker, the Shock’s free agent haul has as much potential as any in the league. Their ultimate success will be determined by the coaching staff and their ability to incorporate the new additions into a roster that steadily improved over the course of Season 1. The Shock were never built to be a Season 1 team. They always had their eyes on the future, and in Season 2 their vision could be realized.
Los Angeles Gladiators: A+
It may seem strange for a team that lost its best player to be in the top spot of these rankings. That being said, Los Angeles had no choice but to move on from Fissure after the debacle during the playoffs. They could not trust him after his antics, and Luis “iRemiix” Figueroa was not the answer. The Gladiators made the best of a bad situation in replacing Fissure with Gye “rOar” Chang-hoon, a standout from Kongdoo Panthera. They gave a two way contract to Lee “Panker” Byung-ho, adding a second solid option at main tank. That alone would have been a win for a team that only improved as Season 1 progressed, but the Gladiators outdid themselves. They won perhaps the most intense bidding war of the offeason when they signed rOar’s KDP teammate Jang “Decay” Gui-un. He gives them another top-tier DPS threat and ensures that this team will have no holes to speak of.
What do you think of these grades? What would you give your team this offseason? Let us know in the comment section!
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