London Spitfire parts ways with all players and coaching staff amid League uncertainty
Another Overwatch League team has let its entire coaching staff and player roster explore options amid league uncertainty, as the London Spitfire is thrown into uncertainty.
31st Oct 2023 15:55
Image via Blizzard Entertainment
London Spitfire parts ways with all players and coaching staff amid League uncertainty
Another Overwatch League team has let its entire coaching staff and player roster explore options amid league uncertainty, as the London Spitfire is thrown into uncertainty.
31st Oct 2023 15:55
Image via Blizzard Entertainment
The London Spitfire have parted ways with all of their coaching staff and all of its players. Amid Overwatch League uncertainty, the team is now one of many franchises that released all their players amid league uncertainty.
In a heartfelt seven-minute long video, the team said goodbye to the roster of which the core had stuck around and punched up over the last two seasons.
Homemade success
Four of its players in season 6 had come from its former academy program, the British Hurricane. Especially William "SparkR" Andersson, Hadi "Hadi" Bleinagel and Oliver "Admiral" Vahar, who count among the core of the roster and found their roots in the developmental team of parent company, Cloud9.
While success initially evaded both Hadi and SparkR, the latter only becoming eligible for the last fraction, in season 4, the signing of Christopher "ChrisTFer" Graham brought a fresh wind to the Spitfire in season 5.
Against the odds of a low-budget team, the squad punched up and finished season 5 in the top 6, directly qualifying for the season playoffs.
Still with the same core, the Spitfire struggled a bit more in season 6 at least in the regular season, the Spitfire went on a streak during the Play-Ins and eventually made the season playoffs, kicking out favourite Atlanta Reign in the process and finishing in 5th/6th place.
No options
Given that the Overwatch League is currently hanging in limbo with a future-determining vote still up in the air, the League has not given out a new Player Service Agreement.
Usually during every offseason window, the front office would provide several dates for the start of certain signing windows, such as those of free agents or player trades. Given that this has not occurred this year and no updated version of the PSA is available to teams, franchises had no option to sign players onto new contracts.
Currently, only five players with active PSAs are known. Two of them are part of the Boston Uprising extended the players Yoo "smurf" Myeong-hwan and Jang "Decay" Guiwoon. The other three players are part of the Washington Justice, who also announced the departure of the rest of their squad.
The London Spitfire are the inaugural champion of the Overwatch League. Starting in season 4, the franchise of parent company Cloud9 switched its roster-building strategy, moving from an all-Korean line-up to a Western roster with a European core.
While it never returned to old glory, its ability to produce underdog rosters at least brought individual trophies to the franchise, with ChrisTFer and Hadi winning Coach of the Year and Tank role star in season 5, respectively.
About The Author
Sascha Heinisch
Sascha "Yiska" Heinisch is a Senior Esports Journalist at GGRecon. He's been creating content in esports for over 10 years, starting with Warcraft 3.
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