OWL: Every Roster Change Ahead Of Midseason Madness

Republished By Plato

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Every recent roster change to know about ahead of Midseason Madness.

Midseason Madness, the second tournament of the Overwatch League 2022 Season, is just about to start. But how are all teams standing as they are heading in this new competition? Which players left the competition, who joined, and what do the teams look like right now? Here is a summary of all the recent roster changes for all Overwatch League teams ahead of Midseason Madness.

Vancouver Titans: One player gone and a new Head Coach

A few months after joining Vancouver Titans, Maximilian “Seicoe” Otter is already leaving the team. The first Austrian player to ever join the Overwatch League didn’t get his chance to shine, as Vancouver Titans removed him from the team a few weeks after his arrival in the USA.

For two years now, Vancouver Titans has been struggling to find its place in the Overwatch League. The team placed 18th and 19th the past two Seasons, despite various player changes. The organization seems to realize the issue might have been with the coaches, as Vancouver Titans now have a new Head Coach.

Head Coach Steve “Flubby” Coronel and Assistant Coach Ali “Pew” Anwar both stepped down from their roles. David “dpei” Pei joins Vancouver Titans as the team’s new Head Coach. He previously coached Los Angeles Gladiators and famously signed Overwatch League caster Josh “Sideshow” Wilkinson to the team after a charity stream. Dpei managed to secure the 5-8th place for Los Angeles Gladiators during several tournaments and may be able to help Vancouver Titans get back on track.

Here is the Vancouver Titans roster ahead of Midseason Madness:

Luka “Aspire” Rolovic
Niclas “sHockWave” Jensen
Huy “MirroR” Trịnh
Nick “False” Wiseman
Petja “Masaa” Kantanen
Jeong-su “Aztac” Park
Robert “Skairipa” Lupsa

Toronto Defiant loses its Head Coach

Vancouver Titans is not the only Canadian team who struggles with their coaching staff. Toronto Defiant made drastic changes this month, as Head Coach Dong-gun “KDG” Kim leaves the team.

Min-seok “DOX” Kim joins Toronto Defiant as an Assistant Coach, but the team still remains without a Head Coach to this date.

San Francisco Shock signs a new Tank player

The back-to-back Overwatch League Champions are adding a new tank player to their roster. The team signed Michael “mikeyy” Konicki, a main tank specialist who previously played with Boston Uprising. His run in the Overwatch League didn’t last long and the player went back to the Overwatch Contenders. He is now back in the League with San Francisco Shock.

Pro Overwatch player Matthew "super" DeLisi smiles and gives a thumbs up on the OWL stage.

San Francisco Shock is still trying to find its perfect tank player for the season. The team used to count on Matthew “super” DeLisi, but the player retired on March 27. San Francisco Shock signed Colin “Coluge” Arai to fill in this role. While Coluge is a founding member of the GOATS roster and is able to play on several off-tank heroes, the team was lacking a main tank player. This will now be mikeyy’s role.

Here is the San Francisco Shock roster ahead of Midseason Madness:

Minki “Viol2t” Park
Se-jin “FiNN” Oh
Jin-woo “Kilo” Jung
Dong-hyun “Proper” Kim
Samuel “s9mm” Santos
Colin “Coluge” Arai
Michael “mikeyy” Konicki

Boston Uprising sees some management changes

On June 27, Boston Uprising announced parting ways with its President of Gaming and General Manager, Chris “HuK” Loranger. HuK was with the team since its creation in 2017, but Boston Uprising and Oxygen Esports felt that HuK felt short when it comes to results. The team stated that they “hold competitive viability as [their] north star and believe this change is best for the long-term direction of the organization.”

To replace HuK until Boston Uprising finds a suitable candidate, Assistant General Manager Vytis “Mineral” Lasaitis becomes Interim General Manager.

Along with these organizational changes, Boston Uprising announced changing parts of its roster. The first player to join this new version of the team is Alex “Seeker” Taylor, a hitscan DPS player. Seeker will have to wait a little longer before playing in the Overwatch League: he will turn 18 on August 7.

Here is the Boston Uprising roster ahead of Midseason Madness:

Hong-gyu “Faith” Kim
William “Crimzo” Hernandez
Jeong-ho “MCD” Lee
Byeong-ju “Valentine” Kim
Gi-hun “Victoria” Oh
Alex “Seeker” Taylor
Leyton “Punk” Gilchrist
Chang-hee “ITSAL” Kim

Florida Mayhem: a departure, a promotion, and a new signing

This month has been eventful for Florida Mayhem. During the break leading to Midseason Madness, Young-seo “KariV” Park told the team he would like to move from a player to a coaching role. He is now Assistant Coach to the team.

Young-seo "KariV" Park sits in his gaming chair with headset on wearing his Toronto Defiant jersey

To replace KariV as a support player, Florida Mayhem signed Rupal “Rupal” Zaman. The 19-year-old is making his debut in the Overwatch League. He mainly plays flex support heroes, such as Ana, Baptise, and Zenyatta.

As the team got a new support player, it also lost a tank. Florida Mayhem decided to release Adam “Adam” Soong from his contract, leaving Jeong-wan “SOMEONE” Ham as the sole tank player on the team.

Here is the Florida Mayhem roster ahead of Midseason Madness:

Majed “SirMajed” Alrashied
Rupal “Rupal” Zaman
Taesung “Anamo” Jung
Seung-hun “Checkmate” Baek
Isaiah “Hydron” Rodriguez
Ki-hyo “Xzi” Jung
Jeong-wan “SOMEONE” Ham

NYXL signs a support rookie

A month ago, New York Excelsior signed tank player Jack “Vulcan” McArthur on a 30-day contract. As his contract is coming to an end, the team decided to part ways with the player, leaving Min-jae “Kellan” Kim as the only tank player fighting under NYXL’s colors.

As the team released a tank player, NYXL signed a new support player: Ho-won “Ho1” Jeon. While the team would need a main support player, they instead signed a third flex support player. Ho1 shares a similar hero pool with the two other support players of NYXL, Sang-min “Myunb0ng” Seo and Nam-jin “Gangnamjin” Kang.

Here is the New York Excelsior roster ahead of Midseason Madness:

Min-jae “Kellan” Kim
Young-woo “Flora” Lim
Jun-ki “Yaki” Kim
Nam-jin “Gangnamjin” Kang
Sang-min “Myunb0ng” Seo
Ho-won “Ho1” Jeon

Paris Eternal changes DPS players

This June, Paris Eternal dropped one hitscan DPS player and signed another one. The team mutually parted ways with Gil-seong “Glister” Lim and signed Jesse “Dove” Palomo. Glister has way more League experience than Dove, who will be making his debuts on the main stage.

According to General Manager Kyoung Ey “AVALLA” Kim, the decision to part ways with Glister had “nothing to do with competitiveness.” Paris Eternal is adjusting to a western-centered team setting and Glister had trouble adapting to a western team.

Here is the Paris Eternal roster ahead of Midseason Madness:

Jesse “Dove” Palomo
Gil-seong “Glister” Lim
Daniël “Daan” Scheltema
Ilari “Vestola” Vestola
Cameron “wub” Johnson
Arthur “dridro” Szanto
Emir “Kaan” Okumus

Guangzhou Charge faces controversies once again

The biggest drama when it comes to rosters before the Midseason Madness came from Guangzhou Charge. The team released DPS player Yiliang “Eileen” Ou in fear of “inappropriate personal conduct.” Guangzhou Charge didn’t share much more about the reasons behind this decision to part ways with one of its iconic players.

Eileen Guangzhou Charge Basketball

Eileen is not the only player to leave Guangzhou Charge right before Midseason Madness. Flex support player He “Molly” Chengzhi also left the team to join Los Angeles Valiant. Guangzhou Charge is now left with two players in each role.

Here is the Guangzhou Charge roster ahead of Midseason Madness:

Seung-pyo “Rio” Oh
Ki-cheol “Cr0ng” Nam
Se-hwan “ChoiSehwan” Choi
Rak-hoon “Develop” Chae
Dong-hyun “Unique” Yoo
Cao “Farway1987” Jiale

Los Angeles Valiant changes its flex support player

The first change in Los Angeles Valiant’s roster was the addition of He “Molly” Chengzhi, who just left from Guangzhou Charge. Molly comes in to replace fellow flex support player Tong “ColdEst” Xiaodong, who left the team four days later.

Los Angeles Valiant also parted ways with Assistant Coach Seung-hyun “WooHyaL” Sung. The team didn’t explain the reasons behind the departures of ColdEst and WooHyaL.

Here is the Los Angeles Valiant roster ahead of Midseason Madness: