Around the OWL: Seoul Dynasty sign Profit and Gesture as they part ways with London Spitfire

Another day, another major shakeup on the Overwatch League transfer market as Seoul Dynasty have successfully pulled off their gambit to pick up two former world championship players in one move. After two years with the London Spitfire, Joon-yeong “Profit” Park and Jae-hee “Gesture” Hong are making a return to their roots with this move to Seoul Dynasty. After a less than stellar 2019 season, London Spitfire are consolidating their efforts to find a new look roster and losing two of the best talents in the league to a sworn rival is not the most ideal step forward.

This move could spell the beginning of a new identity change for London Spitfire, as rumours have circulated they may opt for a more Western looking lineup come January. Elsewhere in the league, Philadelphia Fusion have decided to part ways with DPS player Josue “Eqo” Corona and Support Alberto “neptuNo” González as they restructure some assets for free agent moves in the next few weeks.

Year of the Dynasty?

Since Profit and Gesture’s GC Busan days, the highly favored Tank and DPS duo have wreaked havoc across the world in competitive Overwatch play and this move to Seoul Dynasty has similar nodes of success. At this current stage, Seoul has one of the deepest DPS cores in the Overwatch League as Profit, Fleta, FITS and ILLICIT can all slot in for pocket picks on any given map.

The real genius of this coupe by Seoul Dynasty comes in the stability Gesture brings to the table for a Seoul Dynasty team that has desperately needed a consistent playmaking presence on the frontline since the first season of OWL. Although Min-seo “Marve1” Hwang had brief moments of brilliance as the starting flex Tank for Seoul last season, the veteran presence of Gesture coupled with the built-in synergy he’s developed with Profit will surely give Seoul an entirely new dynamic to play with next season.

Even still, Seoul Dynasty are very much under construction as Ryujehong, Tobi and Zunba have all not been resigned from the Dynasty’s previous campaign, and the possible move for another Support player to rival the quality of Profit and Gesture is still on the table. For London Spitfire, the absence of two mega stars in their pivotal roles could mean the exodus of a majority of the roster.

London’s Korean identity on a technically Western team hasn’t helped their appeal globally, and that may be a key reason for them to rebrand after reaching success quicker than expected with a Season One World Championship. With the pressure to ‘chase a title’ gone from their aspirations, now is a good time for London to find their actual team identity and build that core fanbase at home and abroad.

See also: Overwatch World Cup 2019 Power Rankings

Philadelphia Fusion and Shanghai Dragons make cuts

The theme in this year’s Free Agency class has been large sweeping changes for at least half the teams in the league, and Philadelphia Fusion have decided to follow suit. After rumours swirled that virtually every player on the Fusion was on the chopping block, teams started to hedge their bets on the Carpe sweepstakes but it seems likely that Philly will do whatever it takes to keep their star player with the recent releases they’ve announced.

Read also: Overwatch League Free Agency

Losing Eqo and neptuNo this early on in Free Agency can be tactically beneficial for Fusion as they start to look from within and abroad for their replacements. neptuNo had an impactful role in the success Philly enjoyed in Season One, but the wheels fell off for this team chemistry wise in 2019 and it was obvious changes had to be made for this squad to hit the next level. Eqo will undoubtedly be a highly sought after talent for Western teams as they look to snap up a flexible DPS threat.

Shanghai Dragons have also started to make roster changes with the release of Yong-Jin “YOUNGJIN” Jin from their main squad. Shanghai had great moments last year, even securing a Stage title on the back of their GOAT proficiency at their peak. Losing YOUNGJIN isn’t the biggest boon to their chances of success though, and this may be another move to open up roster spots and possible cap space as Free Agency progresses.

Finally, Houston Outlaws continue rebooting for the 2020 season with another signing as they have now picked up Jeffrey “blasé” Tsang from the Boston Uprising. Fellow new signee João Pedro “Hydration” Goes Telles has already sung his praises for the addition to the team, claiming that he and blasé have the capabilities to be a fearsome duo once they have a chance to gel.