COOLLER replaces Kryw on Misfits due to clashes

Kryw, the star Zarya and flex for Misfits, has been permanently removed from the team to be replaced by former ANOX player COOLLER on hard support. Kryw cited personality clashes and playstyle disputes as the reasons for no longer being with Misfits, who have now switched around roles to bring in COOLLER on Lucio with Zebbosai on flex.

Misfits manager WindZ stated just before the inaugural European Monthly Melee that Kryw had been benched “for now”, but this has since been confirmed by Kryw and the organisation to be a permanent removal from the squad. Kryw said that there had been different approaches to adaptation within the team which led to the change: clashes over adapting on the fly with new compositions compared to learning from analysis of the effectiveness of known compositions.

Kryw’s usual role of flex, which specialised in excellent Zarya play, was taken over by Zebbosai during their most recent tournament. The Swedish shotcaller for the team moved from Lucio, making use of his experience playing flex with Team Sweden in the World Cup. Misfits brought in COOLLER on Lucio to complete the roster for the Monthly Melee, but ended in fourth place behind Bonjour, FaZe, and NiP. They experimented strongly during that run, using Sombra a fair deal inside a triple dps harassment composition.

Misfits' three map losses to FaZe and NiP, ending with their elimination, may not be indicative of their performance in the long-term on this patch however. Zebbosai has talked at length in past interviews about the team’s ability to learn from losses and turn that into unbeatable performances. It’s not too much of a stretch to speculate that this approach appeared to be frustrating Kryw, who wanted to call adaptations as they met them live. There were also hints of personality clashes in previous interviews, and those appear to have reached a breaking point.

Misfits now have 4 out of the 6 who won the Overwatch Open

Misfits have confirmed that they will continue with the roster they used for the Alienware Monthly Melee Europe November. They will be travelling to DreamHack Winter in the coming days with COOLLER, who has only a week to mesh with the roster and bring his solid Lucio play to the team.

Ben Spoont, Misfits owner, said of the move:

We can confirm that Cooller is replacing Kryw, and we wish Kryw the best of success in the future. He was a tremendous asset to the team, including his fantastic performance at the Overwatch Open.

As for Kryw, who analysts have at times called the best Zarya in the world, there are a number of options. EnVyUs are currently searching for a sixth and have, at least for the short term, picked up a flex player with HarryHook on dps; Fnatic are likewise looking for a replacement dps but could shift coolmatt69 to that position and bring Kryw in; there are plenty of teams who may proactively make changes to their roster to incorporate a player of his calibre as well; and there are also a range of top talents on the market for a potential new team if none of that is possible. For the moment though, he is still contracted to Misfits.

This move comes just a week before DreamHack Winter, where Misfits must again face NiP at LAN along with Fnatic and coL. Their online meetings against NiP since the Overwatch Open have all resulted in losses, even on the previous patch which saw them win the largest tournament in Overwatch. NiP did not drop a map in the Alienware Monthly Melee; Misfits will have to adapt quickly and effectively in order to bring the title and not heavily dip in the rankings, on a patch that seems to favour the triple tank meta even more than before.

This is a team with a history of big performances despite roster issues. They won the Overwatch Open, after all, with two brand new players in Hidan and ryb. They will be hoping to do the same for DreamHack Winter with COOLLER.

UPDATE: Misfits released a follow-up statement about the status of Kryw, saying:

[Kryw] is a free agent, we've mutually agreed to part ways. I don't want to encumber him by requiring another team to have to negotiate a buyout.

The new roster for Misfits is: