The trade/signing period for Overwatch League teams started in the break between Stages 1 and 2. Some trades and signings have already paid off, while others need some more time to work out. Here is a look at the five most notable trades or signings that happened for Stage 2, as well as how they’ve worked out so far.





Richard “rCk” Kanerva: Dallas to Boston









RCk was one of the more pleasant surprises of Dallas’ rebuilding, but his trade to Boston for Note was unexpected. In his short time in the Overwatch League, rCk became a main D.va and Sombra player, making clutch plays on both. Boston had a strong start on Stage 2, with reverse sweep wins against Atlanta and Toronto with rCk playing a huge part in both. A loss against Hangzhou was the fault of not expecting the weird strategies Spark would try.





Lucas “Note” Meissner: Boston to Dallas









Dallas gained a more solid flex tank presence in Note, since rCk was been used only for D.va and Sombra, and Pongphop “Mickie” Rattanasangchod is M.I.A. Note has an impressive Zarya to boot, relieving Dylan “AKM” Bignet from those duties when needed. In his first two matches against Toronto and Paris, the Canadian consistently got huge bombs, including a 4K on Rialto against Toronto to seal the map. He even pulled out a Hanzo against Toronto for added DPS pressure for a team that already has AKM and Zachary “Zachareee” Lombardo.





Never miss a moment in esports. Match notifications, latest esports news, and more. Get the Upcomer app now.

Yeon-joon “Ark” Hong: New York to Washington





Ark became a starter for Washington as soon as he arrived, replacing Riley “Fahzix” Taylor as the main Lucio and Mercy player. The Justice’s results, however, did not improve right away, with 3-1 loses to Toronto, Chengdu, and Atlanta. They did not get full swept in those series, but going 3-1 is what Washington does best right now. Ark has not been a breakout star for the team; that honor going to Corey “Corey” Nigra and his Widowmaker. But the Justice are actively trying to make 3-DPS compositions work, probably because they realized they cannot compete with best GOATS teams at their own game. Ark looks more comfortable on Mercy than Lucio, so maybe he has some say in how the team compositions are formed.





Andrej “Babybay” Francisty: San Francisco to Atlanta









When Daneil “Dafran” Francesca abruptly retired between stages 1 and 2, people wondered who could possibly replace him. The answer came in the form of Babybay, coming to Atlanta from a too-crowded San Francisco team. He fit into the team on Zarya and his regular hitscan characters, but so far, the team has struggled against renewed competition. Babybay has been subbed in and out of games with Nathan “FRD” Goebel, the other new Reign player, and they both need more time to be properly adjusted.





Jin-ui “Im37” Hong: Signed by Toronto









Im37 has become the textbook definition of an overnight success. Going from Open Division to Contenders to OWL in less than a month, he is pulling out the same kind of DPS/sniper plays season veterans are pulling off. It helps that he is filling in for Stellar, who retired between stages. Im37 also has a surprisingly wide hero pool, pulling out Widowmaker, Sombra, Tracer, McCree, Soldier: 76, and Zarya when needed. The Defiant’s problems are more with strength of schedule than integrating their newest player.