The Seoul Dynasty, after parting ways with Sunghyeon ‘Jjonak’ Bang is left with a light roster. There are only six players on the active roster with three DPS, one tank, and two supports. This is not unusual for the Seoul Dynasty as they last year played with a light amount of reserve players with much success. Here is a look at the pros and cons of a small roster.
There are many pros that come with a smaller team. With fewer players, there is less adjusting to different styles. The team is able to get to know each other and work cohesively faster. When there are more team members that can bring another variable to the team as well as the team dynamics.
Courtesy of Seoul Dynasty Social Media
The players will also get more one-on-one attention from the coaching staff presumably. With fewer members that will give more time per player per coach in what is needed to be improved. This will help with the individual growth of the players. As well as the in-game growth, the fans will be able to remember and get to know the players faster. It will be easier to market the players on social media or streams on the team’s Twitch channel.
On the flip side, with fewer players, the team can be more predictable. In Season 2 of the Overwatch League, the Seoul Dynasty had a full roster. Though at the time many didn’t understand, the coaches were able to put in different players depending on the map and opponents. This made their strategies less predictable as there were so many options that a team would have to prepare for. At the same time with Junyoung ‘Profit’ Park, Dongeon ‘Fits’ Kim, and Hakyong ‘Stalk3r’ Jeon all being so flexible, that can bring back a little bit of the mystery.
Because there are fewer members that means that there are no substitutes for some positions. The only real substitute will be one of the DPS players. Both the tank position as well as the supports will need to be present and ready to play for each game as well as a scrim. This could lead to burnout quite easily. It is unknown if there will be any homestands in the APAC region, but the normal practice on top of travel could really wear a player down. Plus with Covid still being a big factor, as seen in the LCK, players can get sick which constitutes a need for substitutes to play.
The size of the roster can bring to a team many positives as well as negatives. One advantage of a smaller roster size in this season is that the team is going into a new game. With the barebones, it gives Gen.G the space to add players as they see the hole that might appear when a general meta is formed for Overwatch 2. The Seoul Dynasty has had a lot of success with a smaller roster, and hopefully this season they can continue on with that in Overwatch 2.
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