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Overwatch League franchise, Vancouver Titans, have announced drastic roster changes ahead of the 2022 season. As revealed by the Titans, the North American esports team decided to drop their entire Overwatch esports roster ahead of the next season.
A Fresh Start for The Titans
Sometimes signing a star player or two is enough for a team to reach new heights. But sometimes, initiating a full roster rebuild is the only way to find some traction following a disappointing season.
Having struggled to achieve much in 2021, the Vancouver Titans did exactly that and announced that they’re parting ways with their entire Overwatch esports roster ahead of the 2022 season. The news surfaced on Sunday, October 10, unveiling the league’s biggest and most impactful off-season roster move.
While a drastic change, seeing Titans opt to replace their entire lineup makes a lot of sense. Vancouver Titans have ended the 2021 OWL season with a 1-15 record.
With only one win from 16 fixtures, the Titans ended the season tied with the London Spitfire as the second-worst performing team of the season. The only squad that managed a worse record were Los Angeles Valiant, who haven’t won a single match.
In a bid to start fresh and find more stability, Vancouver Titans cut ties with all eight of their players. That includes DPS players in Dalton Bennyhoff, Jiri “LiNkzr” Masalin, and Kim “Teru” Min-ki, tanks Moon “ChangSik” Chang-sik and Nathan “frdwnr” Goebel, and two supports Anthony “Fire” King and Randal “Roolf” Stark.
A Disappointing Season
The Vancouver Titans struggled to deliver despite signing two highly talented Overwatch esports players in Teru and frdwnr ahead of the 2021 season. Even though no one expected them to be as strong as in 2019 and compete for the title, the Titans underdelivered.
Vancouver Titans started to struggle from the get-go and finished the first three tournament cycles without a single win. Things didn’t improve until August when the Titans picked up their first win against Boston Uprising.
Even though the Titans won the match 3-0, it didn’t help them find any traction. The win came too late, not allowing the Titans to bounce back from their poor start to the season.
This, however, isn’t the first time that the Vancouver Titans decided on a complete roster rebuild. Midway through the 2020 season, the Titans released their entire Korean roster in favor of the young Overwatch Contenders lineup.
Some individuals from that roster, including Dalton and Roolf, would become iconic members of the team. But, unfortunately, neither managed to help the Titans escape their slump this term.
What’s Next For The Vancouver Titans?
The Overwatch League esports organization have yet to commend on their plans for the future. It’s still unclear how will they rebuild their squad for the next year; however, with many players entering free agency this offseason, the Titans should have plenty of options.
Their former players, meanwhile, are already actively searching for a new team. That includes Changsik, Dalton, frdwnr, who have announced that they’re looking for a new home.
The 2022 Overwatch League will kick off in April 2022, meaning that the Titans now have nearly half a year to rebuild their squad. Whether they’ll look for young talent is anyone’s guess, but it could benefit the Titans as they look to start fresh.
The OWL 2022 season will move to Overwatch 2, a new game title, which will in some ways be similar to Overwatch 1 but also introduce changes. The most significant for the competitive Overwatch is the transition from a six-man team size to five.
More information about the upcoming Overwatch season and Vancouver Titans should become available by year-end.