As the coronavirus pandemic rages on, its toll on the esports industry reaches higher and higher. This time around, pressure from the outbreak has caused a massive breakdown in one of the Overwatch League’s major teams. As of today, the Vancouver Titans has released its entire roster, including two coaches.
This is a remarkable turn of events for the team, which in the last season of the league, was defeated in grand finals. According to an open letter from the team, the mass layoff was spurred on by “a very complicated situation which included sensitive information and player confidentiality made even more challenging by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
What’s even more shocking is the state of the team as it releases its players. Not only had the Titans come in second place during last year’s season, but they were also already on a roll this year. While the pandemic had been restricting games, the Titans still claimed two convincing victories. By all means, they have been a successful team with a bright season ahead of them. However, due to the pandemic causing worsened conditions for business and travel, the majority of the team was moved out of their state-of-the-art facility in Vancouver to back home, in South Korea.
A letter to our fans: https://t.co/NeceYxuryX pic.twitter.com/mFSBa50Kpj
— Vancouver Titans (@VancouverTitans) May 6, 2020
This relocation ended up causing more problems for the team. According to the letter, the time difference between the team and its home base created numerous difficulties. That, partnered with technical difficulties on the player’s side at home “further exacerbated the situation.”
After deliberation, the team and the following players and coaching members decided to part ways:
HyoJong “HakSal” Kim
Minsoo “Seominsoo” Seo
Seongjun “Slime” Kim
Chunghee “Stitch” Lee
Juseok “Twilight” Lee
JeHong “RyuJeHong” Yu
Yangwon “Yang1” Kweon (coach)
Jae Hong “Andante” Hwang (coach)
The team has also released Chan Hyeong “Fissure” Baek.
Problems for the team don’t end at a lack of players to actually compete. The Titans are remaining in the Overwatch League, and have two games coming up this weekend. On Saturday the Titans are scheduled to go up against the Washington Justice, followed by the Florida Mayhem on Sunday.
According to the letter, coming up with a new team seems like it won’t be an issue. In its final paragraph, the letter reads “We look forward to announcing our new roster of Titans in the coming days.” If anything is for sure, it’s that these upcoming games are sure to be interesting.
The post Vancouver Titans Left Teamless after Releasing its Entire Roster by Otto Kratky appeared first on DualShockers.