The OWL offseason can be a wild place with news and updates coming in from all sides. Teams are looking to make their moves early so they have a chance to grab the next big free agent. Because of all the chatter and noise that surrounds the offeason, information can get lost in the shuffle. To combat the chaos and to help out fans figure out what’s going on with their team, TGH would like to introduce this new weekly segment, OWL Offseason Headlines. This weekly column will run down the biggest news from the previous week to ensure people are caught up with the latest in OWL.
The Dallas Fuel bounced back from a disappointing end in 2021 to become the 2022 Overwatch League Champions. The roster barely changed between those two seasons, and it appears as though the Fuel may have found the roster that could become a true OWL dynasty. However, that dynasty might not be under the Fuel banner. On Saturday November 12, Mike “hastr0” Rufail announced that the entire Fuel roster would be unrestricted free agents heading into 2023.
To call this news “shocking” would be an understatement. It isn’t uncommon for a championship team to make rosters changes heading into the new year, but it is very rare that the entire team leaves after earning their first championship belt. There might not be a team that is capable of opening their wallets for the Dallas roster, but it is the story to watch develop as the offseason progresses.
Placing second overall is an amazing finish for most teams, but for the San Francisco Shock it was quite the disappointment. With the overall MVP on their roster, winning it all was the expectation for the team that rostered four rookies to start the season. But the Shock fell to Dallas in a unforgettable seven-map battle, and made their first move of the offseason. San Francisco announced the departure of Michael “Mikeyy” Konicki, Colin “Coluge” Arai, Samuel “S9mm” Santos and Nam-joo “Striker” Kwon on Friday, November 11.
Shock fans are surprised to see both Coluge and S9mm go after a phenomonal first season in the league, but this new may indicate the Shock are looking toward their academy team, O2 Blast, for some call ups this offseason.
One of the biggest causes of confusion for fans during the offseason is the murkiness around contracts. At the moment contracts are not publicly available to everyone, and are reliant on the teams and the Overwatch League themselves to update outsiders on the contract situations of players. Each year OWL does produce a contract tracker for the league, but it looks like some teams are getting a jumpstart. The Shanghai Dragons revealed their players’ contract situations via Twitter.
Later that day, Boston copied their format and made the announcement surrounding their own roster. The two announcements are a great step forward for clarity in the league, and it lets fans know what is going on with their favorite team. Since these teams revealed their player contract details more teams (such as the Gladiators and the Spitfire) have followed suit and unveiled the contract status of their roster.
The first retirement of the offseason occurred this past week, and now the league says “goodbye” to one its inaugural players. On Friday November 11, the Philadelphia Fusion announced that DPS star Jae-hyeok “Carpe” Lee would be leaving the Overwtch scene to join T1’s VALORANT team.
Carpe leaves the scene as one of the best players ever to not win a major tournament. Carpe routinely found a way to get his team deep into bracket play, but couldn’t quite reach the top of the mountain. As VALORANT now enters a new franchise model of competitive play, Carpe will have a new chance to find that elusive championship ring.
For better or for worse, there are a ton of free agents hitting the market after the 2022 season. Teams want to maximize their chances of finding the right pieces, and players want to participate in tryouts early and often to secure their spot for 2023. Below are the players and staff members that publicly mentioned they are exploring the market last week. Some players are still in contract discussions with their current team, but still have the option to pursue other opportunities.
Atlanta Reign
Boston Uprising
Dallas Fuel
Guangzhou Charge
Houston Outlaws
Los Angeles Gladiators
Los Angeles Valiant
Philadelphia Fusion
San Francisco Shock
Shanghai Dragons
Toronto Defiant
Vancouver Titans
Washington Justice
Former OWL
Retired
Featured image courtesy of the Overwatch League
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