Overwatch League teams LA Gladiators and Philadelphia Fusion have both released three players from their rosters. As of late, teams in the Overwatch League have been releasing players left, right, and center. Shanghai Dragons even cut a whole 8 players out of their 11-player roster. With Overwatch League Season 2 fast approaching, teams are evidently starting to experiment with new tactics, which involves trying out new players. To try out new players, you’ve got to axe a few old ones.
Philadelphia Fusion’s release of Joe “Joemeister” Gramano and Park “DayFly” Jeong-Hwan (via dotesports) aren’t all that unexpected. However, they have also released Russian superstar Georgii “ShaDowBurn” Gushcha, who is widely renowned as one of the best Genji players in the world. ShaDowBurn will have no issue with finding a new team, as he has proven himself to be a valuable DPS player. However, the fact that Fusion has decided to release him in the first place is a strange move, as he has been performing incredibly for Russia at the 2018 Overwatch World Cup.
The changes to the Gladiators’ roster (via Dexerto) are even more surprising, still. It was recently announced that Fissure, known as one of the best main tanks in the League, was set to join Seoul Dynasty. This move had been highly anticipated, as Fissure was quite outspoken about his disappointment following his exclusion from the Gladiators squad for the Season playoffs. However, the one thing this move seemed to set in stone was that Luis “iRemiix” Galarza Figueroa would be taking the rein(hardt)s as main tank. The important word here is “seemed,” as Figueroa has also been released.
iRemiix’s release is accompanied by the releases of DPS players Choi “Asher” Jun-sung and Ted “Silkthread” Wang. The Gladiators now has a roster of only six players, which is two below the minimum roster of eight. This means that they’ll be actively searching for new talent, especially considering the fact that they’re without a main tank at present. Maybe they’ll look to Felix “xQc” Lengyel, the popular streamer who was let go from Dallas Fuel after getting a second short-term ban. That was a joke – xQc will not be joining the Gladiators.
The off-season so far has been filled with excitement. From releases, to new signings, it seems that teams will be heading into Season 2 with brand new rosters, and that’s not even taking the two new kids on the block into account – Atlanta and Guangzhou.
