General News Overwatch

Another week, another round of Overwatch announcements. On top of a new game patch that nerfed shields, we have news of more player retirements, some rosters announcing their final additions & OWL new broadcasting talent announcements!

OWL New Broadcasting Talent; Custa & Jake

OWL New Broadcasting Talent – Custa And Jake Join The OWL Broadcasting Team

Two of the most popular western Overwatch players will join the OWL broadcasting team next season.

Scott “Custa” Kennedy will be an analyst on the main desk and Jake “Jake” Lyon will be a game caster.

In an article posted on Overwatchleague.com, Jake said he enjoyed casting the Overwatch World Cup in 2018 and 2019 and figured it would be a great area to put his Overwatch experience to good use.

Custa said he always thought that being part of the entertainment side would suit him well and that its time to move onto something new.

Retiring from Overwatch



Read: https://t.co/ZLqKoGD7lm — Scott Kennedy (@Custa) December 12, 2019

As part of his role transition, Custa also announced he has retired from competitive play, spending the past season and a half as main support for the Los Angeles Valiant.

Custa originally started in the OWL as part of the Dallas Fuel, who traded him to the Valiant halfway through the season in exchange for support player Unkoe.

Prior to the OWL, Custa played for Fnatic and Arc6.

As the Overwatch League will now be played worldwide across the United States, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, China, and South Korea, homestands east and west will take place at the same time, so the production teams no doubt need more on-screen talent.

Jaru to Gladiators

DPS player Jason “Jaru” White has been announced as the last addition to the Los Angeles Gladiators roster.

🧩 The final piece of our 2020 Puzzle 🧩



Please join us in welcoming @JaruOW to Gladiators! #ShieldsUp pic.twitter.com/o2kdT9QWWz — Los Angeles Gladiators (@LAGladiators) December 12, 2019

Jaru joins a team in desperate need of finding suitable replacement players for Surefour and Decay, and has already gained Birdring and Mirror to fill in.

A flex-DPS player known for playing Pharah, Genji, and Doomfist, Jaru joins the Gladiators from Team Envy, the Dallas Fuel’s contenders team. Team Envy finished first in both seasons of NA West Contenders in 2019

Roar to Washington Justice

Chang-hoon “rOar” Gye has a new team next season, joining the Washington Justice from the Los Angeles Gladiators.

Roar played the majority of matches for the Gladiators in 2019, as their other main tank, Panker, was on a two-way contract.

Roar replaces Janus on main tank duties for the Justice, with LullSiSH as the team’s other tank.

New Overwatch Patch

The biggest Overwatch news so far this month is the latest game patch that dropped, one that completely reworked how main tanks work.

Orisa Changes

Orisa’s shield health dropped from 900 to 600 hp, buts he gained 50 hp, can move 10% faster when firing, and her fortify ability’s cooldown decreased.

Sigma Changes

Sigma’s barrier health dropped from 1,500 to 900 hp, but his kinetic grasp ability’s cooldown decreased and the damage-to-shield gain ratio increased.

Reinhardt Changes

Reinhardt’s shield health decreased from 2,000 to 1,600 hp, but his movement speed with the shield up increased.

The developer comments say the changes would decrease the time shot at barriers and change the pace of the game, wanting those shield characters to be more active in the fighting rather than hiding or staying stationary.

In my matches, I have not any decrease in main tank usage, as they are still a necessary part of the game, so it is too early to see the decisive effect developers are hoping for. I have seen a notable increase in Roadhog, as his shotgun fire can now destroy shields easier than ever.

As there are still two months left until the next season of Overwatch League 2020 starts, there may be at most one other major patch before then.