New year, new roster. Many teams went through a massive makeover during the 2020 offseason, including the Toronto Defiant. By bringing in familiar faces from across the land, and from across Canada, the Defiant have created a newly accessible team. With fan favorites, major talent, and some shining stars waiting in the wings to prove their worth, there’s a chance that the second season for this expansion team can break through the mold of what they did last year.
The Defiant have collected a handful of fresh faces to their roster, including Canadian superstars Lane “Surefour” Roberts and Brady “Agilities” Girardi. They join the ranks of late-season signing Liam “Mangachu” Campbell, who has played with both Surefour and Agilities during the World Cup on Team Canada. Joining Agilities from the Valiant is his partner in crime, Young-seo “KariV” Park. Alongside KariV in the support position is Boston Uprising veteran Kristian “Kellex” Kellar. Their tank line has also seen an upgrade, with Fusion University’s Adam “Beast” Denton joining former Shock player Andreas “Nevix” Karlsson. These players join an already strong foundation, and with a fanbase that’s ready to take it all the way this year, the Defiant are staging a comeback.
Image Courtesy of Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment
The Defiant’s first game of the season takes place in New York, against the newly defined Paris Eternal. Though Paris has acquired a lot of highly sought after players, namely Yeong-han “Sp9rk1e” Kim. However, some of their brightest stars are too young to play, and therefore will be benched in favor of the players that Paris has chosen to keep. In a meta where it seems like DPS heroes will be the defining feature, all eyes should be on the damage players for both teams.
In the Eternal’s case, that rests on Ki-hyo “Xzi” Jung, Terence “SoOn” Tarlier, and Nicolas “NiCOgdh” More. Though these players are all talented in their respectful role, a lack of training and synergy could get the better of this green team. The Defiant, though brimming with new players, have brought together players who’ve been working together for years. They have synergy, and with the skills to top it off, the Defiant have the edge going into this game. Therefore, their first time on the stage should end with a Toronto victory.
Among the returning faces to the Defiant’s roster is Andreas “Logix” Berghmans. Though he and Surefour tend to have a very similar hero pool, there’s only one thing that can get fans to Thank Mr. Logix instead of Mr. Roberts — Tracer. Though the meta isn’t clearly defined right now, with patch changes still in development instead of on the live client, there are rumors that Tracer could be making her triumphant return to the Blizzard stage. If that’s the case, Logix should be someone to keep an eye on. His Tracer play is legendary among League players, and if Paris wants to have the edge up on Toronto, they’ll need to take care of Logix first.
Featured Image Courtesy of the Toronto Defiant twitter.
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