A brand new Spitfire for 2020
What the major roster changes could mean for the team coming in to next year’s league
Perhaps the most surprising change to a roster coming in to 2020 was London Spitfire’s decision to let almost their entire team go. All of their inaugural season roster has now left, and only Krillin, who didn’t see that much play time, remains from the 2019 team.
It was certainly a shock to see the roster that won the first season of Overwatch League being broken up in this way, especially since so many of the players are certainly still OWL calibre. The duo of Profit and Gesture was quickly picked up by Seoul Dynasty, and Birdring and Fury have found new homes on the LA Gladiators and Philadelphia Fusion respectively.
However, once you look past the season championship and consider their more recent performance, the reasoning behind these drastic changes becomes clear. Spitfire’s 2019 performance can be best described as ‘above average’. Finishing 7th overall in the regular season and then losing in the quarterfinals is certainly not bad, but for a team that considers itself top flight, it just isn’t good enough.
Looking at the Spitfire’s new roster, both confirmed and hinted at, gives us some clues for their plan for the 2020 season.
The team is having some fun with their fans right now. Instead of announcing their new roster, they are using cryptic hints posted on their social media and allowing their fans to work them out for themselves. If you like puzzles, and you’re familiar with the T2 Overwatch scene in Korea and beyond, then feel free to check their Twitter and puzzle out the clues yourself. If not, then like I did, you can check out this article which breaks down all the hints for you.
It seems clear that Spitfire are returning to the formula that brought them victory in 2019, stack a roster with some of the best talent in the Korean T2 scene, and mold them into a squad with championship potential.
The biggest difference between then and now is that this new Spitfire roster, composed of talented players but OWL rookies, are going to be going up against teams and players lots of OWL experience already. San Francisco Shock and Vancouver Titans, the two teams that dominated the 2019 season, have both made only minor changes to their rosters. This new Spitfire team is going to have to match up against teams that have been playing together for years, and try and achieve the same level of synergy.
The coaching staff are going to be vital in creating a team that is up to this challenge. Looking at the coaching additions for 2020 it’s not hard to see why Spitfire believe that they will be up to the task. Longstanding Spitfire coach Agape is joined by Pavane of the New York Excelsior, aWesomeGuy, and Twinkl, who took his team O2 Blast to the finals of Korean Contenders Season 1 this year.
One thing is for certain, it will be a very different London Spitfire taking the stage next year. Their totally revamped roster is full of potential, but it remains to be seen whether that will lead them to success the same way it did in 2018. Either way it should make for some exciting Overwatch for all of us to enjoy.
