In the Overwatch League's first season, the Pacific Division was nonexistent at the end; the two finalists came from the Atlantic. It was an especially tumultuous year one Pacific team: Supposed front runners Seoul Dynasty never found anything close to the word "consistency" and the rest of division failed to pick up the slack. Although the two Los Angeles franchises made waves with big roster moves later in the season to make a run at the grand final, neither made it to the Barclay's Center in Brooklyn.
It's a different story in 2019. The Pacific Division has expanded along with the rest of Overwatch League, as three new Chinese teams and the Vancouver Titans join the party. It's been a long offseason and every team, especially the 0-40 Shanghai Dragons, have made some major changes to their rosters. This time around, not making the final is unacceptable.
Without further adieu, here are the report cards for how each Pacific Division side did in the offseason.
Los Angeles Gladiators
Gye "rOar" Chang-hoon
Aaron "Bischu" Kim
Jonas "Shaz" Suovaara
João Pedro "Hydration" Goes Telles
Benjamin "BigG00se" Isohanni
Lee "Panker" Byong-ho
Lane "Surefour" Roberts
Kang "Void" Junwoo
Riku "Ripa" Toivanen
Jang "Decay" Gui-un
It was a successful opening season for the Gladiators despite dropping out in the quarterfinals to the London Spitfire in a three-match series. Things didn't go as perfectly as would have hoped at the end, however the team's star player and one of the favorites to win overall league MVP, Chan-hyung "Fissure" Baek, fractured from the team in the latter part of the season and didn't play in the playoffs.
To the surprise of no one, Fissure left in the offseason to join an all-South Korean roster, and the Gladiators, not wanting to skip a beat, picked up talented Contenders prospect Gye "rOar" Chang-hoon to try and fill the large shoes left by Fissure. Additionally, probably the team's biggest move, the Gladiators acquired the services of sharpshooter Jang "Decay" Gui-un, who was rumored to be atop of the wish lists of many franchises in the offseason. Gladiators starting off-tank Junwoo "Void" Kang is no stranger to rOar, having played alongside him in late 2017 on Kongdoo Panthera, and the two should provide, at worst, a solid foundation for the Gladiators to perform.
Last year, the Gladiators felt like a team without a true game-breaking ace in the offensive ranks, and the signing of Decay should change that. The team's other two DPS players, Lane "Surefour" Roberts" and João Pedro "Hydration" Goes Telles, are flexible pieces any title-contending team would want. Last, the addition of Decay feels like the final player who could take the Gladiators from a dark horse to a frontrunner.
Grade: A
Los Angeles Valiant
Kim "KuKi" Dae-kuk
Bak "KariV" Young-seo
Chae "Bunny" Jun-hyeok
Koo "Fate" Pan-seung
Scott "Custa" Kennedy
Kyle "KSF" Frandanisa
Kim "Izayaki" Min-chul
Indy "SPACE" Halpern
Brady "Agilities" Girardi
Let me be straight with you, readers, the Los Angeles Valiant is a difficult team to grade, and a "B" could be overrated or underrated for what happened in the offseason. On paper, things went up in smoke for the best performing 2018 Pacific franchise, losing the team's ace, Terence "SoOn" Tarlier to the newly-formed Paris squad. The Gladiators picked up what could be the next great DPS player in the Overwatch League as their new centerpiece on offense, and the Valiant lost the man whose name was chanted endlessly at the Blizzard Arena whenever they took the stage.
Yet, it's hard to bet against the Valiant. This is a team that embodies the mantra of being greater than the sum of its parts. In a league where flash and pizzazz can get you a long way, the Valiant are a more gritty, resourceful group, which led to half of their matches last season seemingly decided on overtime pushes and Hail Mary passes. This campaign, the Valiant expect the team's identity and culture to remain the same, with the "next player up" approach coming in the form of support-turned-DPS Park "Kariv" Young-seo hoping to solidify himself at his new starting position. The team is also betting on Kariv's replacement, Park "Izayaki" Min-chul, having a breakout rookie year at the flex support role after not being able to play last year due to visa complications.
The reason why I'm still confident in the Valiant to do good things this season, outside of their solid infrastructure, is the starting tank duo that has to be considered at this point one of the strongest in the league. Success begins with a powerful tank pairing, and the Valiant boast stars at both the main tank and off-tank positions in Koo "Fate" Pan-seung and Indy "SPACE" Halpern, respectively. As long as these two are in the starting lineup, I can't see the Valiant missing the playoffs.
Grade: B
Dallas Fuel
Jonathan "HarryHook" Tejedor Rua
Dylan "aKm" Bignet
Benjamin "uNKOE" Chevasson
Son "OGE" Minseok
Timo "Taimou" Kettunen
Jung "Closer" Won-sik
Pongphop "Mickie" Rattanasangchod
Richard "rCk" Kanerva
Zachary "ZachaREEE" Lombardo
Hyeon "EFFECT" Hwang
Dallas fans entered 2018 thinking their team was destined to be a contender for the overall crown. Those dreams were quickly extinguished as the Fuel slipped at the starting line and crawled their way to an overall disappointing year.
The team's brain trust in Season 2 is the North American dream team of United States World Cup coach Aaron "Aero" Atkins and Canada World Cup coach Justin "Jayne" Conroy. The team improved at the off-tank position with the signing of Richard "rCk" Kanerva, another of the impressive Finnish prospects coming from Team Gigantti of European Contenders. "Pongphop "Mickie" Rattanasangchod is still around to provide Briggette duty if she is still viable following recent nerfs, and the Thailand tank should have less pressure on his shoulders this season with rCk's entrance. Son "OGE" Min-seok is also back as the team's starting main tank and is primed to become the next great at the position.
At the DPS role, the Fuel signed youngster Zachary "ZachaREEE" Lombardo, a player Aero worked with on the most recent American World Cup squad. Although ZachaREEE didn't have the strongest of performances on the international stage, the flexible marksman was electrifying on Fusion University in their dominant run through North American Contenders. If Dallas gets the ZachaREE that lit up the scoreboard with Lee "WhoRU" Seung-jun in Contenders and he can can have a similar relationship with Fuel ace Hyeon "EFFECT" Hwang, then maybe the dreams of 2018 were just one year too early.
Grade: B+
San Francisco Shock
Yoo "Smurf" Myeong-hwan
Grant "moth" Espe
Kwon "STRIKER" Nam-joo
Choi "Choihyobin" Hyo-bin
Matthew "super" DeLisi
Jay "sinatraa" Won
Andrej "babybay" Francisty
Nikola "sleepy" Andrews
Andreas "Nevix" Karlsson
Kim "Rascal"Dong-jun
Park "Architect" Minho
Park "Viol2t" Minki
I love what the Shock have done in San Francisco, and this is coming from a writer born and raised in Los Angeles. When the Shock came into the league last year, they had a clear purpose -- survey the scene, test out some young players, and see where the chips fell. They were alright punting the first few stages of the season for their prospects to come of age and to see which of their diamonds in the rough actually panned out. Then, right as it felt like the Shock were OK bowing into the night, they signed highly sought-after South Korean DPS prospect Park "Architect" Min-ho and announced their arrival to the grownup table of franchises willing to spend cash.
Although the Architect signing didn't result in a playoff appearance last year, there were enough improvements in the final stage of the season to provide optimism going into Season 2. But the Shock didn't stop there. This offseason, they decided to throw their wallets in the face of every team in the league, picking up MVP candidate Kwon "Striker" Nam-joo from Boston and jack-of-all-trades Kim "Rascal" Dong-jun coming over after a disappointing run on Dallas. This isn't even mentioning they still have American World Cup DPS Jay "sinatraa" Won on the roster alongside one of the biggest revelations of last season, Andrej "babybay" Francisty. To go with their impressive DPS quintet, the Shock added a cherry on top with Park "Viol2t" Min-ki, a Zenyatta maestro who is already garnering comparisons to league MVP and possible demigod Bang "JJoNak" Sung-hyeon.
I didn't even mention they have Park "Crusty" Da-hee, the conductor of Boston's Cinderella run, as head coach and the one expected to juggle all the different kinds of talent on the squad. San Francisco isn't here to shock the world like the Boston Uprising with Striker and Crusty did in 2018. They're here to dominate it.
Grade: S
Shanghai Dragons
Kim "Geguri" Se-yeon
Yang "Luffy" Seong-hyeon
Jin "YOUNGJIN" Young-jin
Jo "GuardiaN" Jun-hwan
Yang "DDing" Jin-kyeok
Son "CoMa" Kyung-woo
Bae "diem" Min-seong
Weida "Diya" Lu
Lee "FEARLESS" Eui-seok
The Shanghai Dragons could have added three random fans from the crowd and gotten a good grade for how embarrassing 2018 was for the squad. Shanghai made sports history by having the worst single season by playing in 40 matches and losing every one. Not one win. Not even one on a random Thursday when their opponents were rusty and playing with substitutes.
This offseason, Shanghai decided that an overhaul was needed and a majority of the roster was dumped. What began as attempting to get the South Korean players to learn Chinese has now been flipped on its head, as the only Chinese player remaining, Weida "Diya" Lu, will have to more than likely learn to Korean if he wants a chance to start again as a Dragon. Besides Diya, the roster is South Korean, a large chunk coming from the Kongdoo Panthera squad that fell to Runaway (we'll talk about you later, Vancouver) in the second most recent Korean Contenders final. While Shanghai didn't secure the services of Decay, their expected new starting DPS line should have little issues making an impact, Bae "Diem" Min-Sung and Yang "Dding" Jin-Hyeok two of the more exciting rookie talents making their debuts this season.
The one position where Shanghai didn't make any changes could be the difference between a playoff appearance at the end of the year or wallowing at the bottom of the cellar again. Shanghai believe in tank duo Lee "Fearless" Eui-seok and Kim "Geguri" Se-yeon, and 2019 will be the answer if they were held back by a broken system and already drowned ship last year, or if they were just as culpable as the players dropped in the offseason. Also, after watching most of his teammates leave for the London Spitfire last year, Yang "Luffy" Seong-hyeon has finally made it to the Overwatch League.
Grade: B+
Seoul Dynasty
Hwang "Marve1" Min-seo
Kim "FITS" Dong-eon
Kim "ZUNBA" Joonhyeok
Byun "Munchkin" Sang-beom
Yang "tobi"Jin-mo
Ryu "ryujehong" Je-hong
Lee "Jecse" Seung-soo
Baek "Fissure" Chang-hyoeng
Choi "Michelle" Min-hyuk
Kim "Fleta" Byung-sun
Another Pacific team, another high grade. When your division doesn't send a team to a final and more than half the teams disappointed last year, aggressive transactions are needed. Seoul were the golden boys of season one. They were the continuation of the Lunatic-Hai squad that dazzled South Korean fans and created a dynasty in their home country. Coming over to America, that dynasty was to continue, their branding even confirming the fact that Seoul was looking for more than just a single world title.
The Dynasty didn't even get close a world title in their first year. Like the Dallas Fuel, the expectations crushed Seoul, and they never even made a stage playoff, failing time and time again when it mattered. It didn't take long after the season for Seoul to be aggressive on the trade market, snatching up Fissure from the Gladiators and giving him the Korean-first language team like he wanted. Although Fissure has rumored issues working with teammates, the Dynasty aren't worried. What they needed was mechanical talent, and that's exactly what they got in Fissure.
Not ending with just Fissure, they looked towards China and snatched up the tank line of the all-South Korean squad Lucky Future Zenith who won the Contenders trophy. Also looking to upgrade at the main support position following a rocky campaign from former star Yang "tobi" Jin-mo, Seoul signed one of the hottest free agents on the market, Lee "Jecse" Seung-soo.
As the only South Korean franchise, the Dynasty have an advantage of signing South Korean talent wanting to play their future home games close to their families, and Seoul didn't hold back in the offseason. Fissure and Jecse might contend for best players at their position in 2019, and even if Fissure doesn't work, Hwang "Marve1" Min-seo is one of the more exciting main tank prospects in the pipeline. As long as Kim "Fleta" Byung-sun can rediscover his ace form that put him in the MVP race early last season and the rest of the DPS line can do their jobs, Seoul should ultimately be a threat to do some damage in the Pacific Division and playoffs.
Grade: A
Chengdu Hunters
Li "Yveltal" Xianyao
Ding "ameng" Menghan
Luo "Elsa" Wenjie
Ma "lateyoung" Tianbin
Guan "GARRY" Li
Wei "JIQIREN" Yansong
Lo "Baconjack" Tzu-Heng
Zhang "YangXiaoLong" Zhihao
Kong "Kyo" Chunting
Yi "JinMu" Hu
Let's now move onto the unknown quantities. Chengdu have a clear identity coming into their first year as a franchise -- we want to play a Chinese style, communicate in Chinese, and represent the Chinese fans. Where other Chinese teams like Shanghai have decided to go for more South Korean-focused rosters, Chengdu has done the opposite, signing only players from China and Taiwan.
Royal Never Give Up runs the Hunters franchise and if you watch League of Legends, this philosophy shouldn't be surprising. League of Legends, like Overwatch, has been dominated by players from South Korea for years, and after failing to win anything with South Korean import slot players, RNG decided to buck the trend and created an all-Chinese lineup. They prioritized communication and homegrown talent over flashy names. Eventually, RNG broke through with their lineup and won countless championships. This is the strategy they appear to be applying in Overwatch League as well.
To be frank, I would be a bit astounded if this current lineup did anything in 2019, but like the Shock last year and RNG's other teams, this is a long-term play for Chengdu. They want to cultivate a culture on the Hunters, and if they can become the landing spot for the up-and-coming Chinese prospects, then eventually, in a year or two, the Chengdu will be a force to be reckoned with.
Grade: C-
Guangzhou Charge
Lee "Rise" Won-jae
Kim "shu" Jin-seo
Oh "Rio" Seung-pyo
Charlie "nero" Zwarg
Lee "Happy" Jeong-woo
Finley "Kyb" Adisi
Chen "Onlywish" Lizhen
Choi "HOTBA" Hong-Jun
Ou "Eileen" Yiliang
Kim "Chara" Jeong-yeon
This roster befuddles me. I'm not saying it's bad. In the one preseason match they played with the Seoul Dynasty, a team expected to do big things in 2019, the Charge looked more than OK, drawing with Seoul in the showmatch. This roster, though, after eyeing every other roster in the league, is just unorthodox.
Some teams went all-South Korean. Chengdu, wanting to invest in the Chinese scene, went for players only from China and Taiwan. Guangzhou? Why not a few Chinese players. Then, for good measure, let's get some South Korean players. Oh, how about an American? That sound good? Hey, let's make this a party and add a player from the United Kingdom. Put them all in a blender, shake it up, and voila! We have the beautiful hodgepodge known as the Guangzhou Charge.
Over the offseason, one player I've heard good things about again and again is Guangzhou's Lee "Happy" Jung-woo. The adjectives "nutty" and "godly" have been used to describe his Widowmaker play. If there is one player on this roster to keep an eye out for, it would be Happy and see if he can live up of the hype. If he does, the hierarchy of hitscan DPS is about to be shaken up.
Still, it's hard to give this team a higher grade when teams with mixed communication more often than not don't work. It doesn't matter if it's Counter-Strike or League of Legends. It's hard to play a game when you can't communicate clearly with all your teammates, and that's a giant hurdle the Charge will have to power through for at least the first few months of the season.
Grade: C
Hangzhou Spark
Cai "Krystal" Shilong
Park "iDK" Ho-jin
Yoon "BEBE" Hui-chang
Park "Bazzi" Junki
Kang "Adora" Jae-hwan
Xu "Guxue" Qiulin
Park "Ria" Sungwook
Ahn "Revenge" Hyung-keun
Jeong "NoSmite" Da-un
Kim "GodsB" Kyeong-bo
The last of the new Chinese troika is the most promising, Hangzhou Spark. Chengdu is playing the long game and Charge are trying to blend a delicious meal with 42 different ingredients. The Spark, popping in their pink and baby blue uniforms, want to make a splash for more than just their catchphrases and team colors.
The big name people will latch onto when they see the Spark is Xu "Guxue" Qiulin, the breakout star from the most-recent World Cup. Guxue's Winston and main-tank play was lauded by commentators and community alike, anointing the Chinese rookie the next big thing after leading his Chinese squad to the World Cup final. Along with Guxue, the Spark will be teaming him up with his World Cup teammate Cai "Krystal" Shilong to make a dynamic one-two punch in the DPS and tank roles. Guxue can open up the space for Krystal, and like he did at the World Cup, the 18-year-old sharpshooter will take care of business.
At the main support role, Park "iDK" Ho-jin is expected to be one of the leaders of this young team. The former LFZ member might have been the shining star of the talented bunch that won Chinese Contenders, and the Spark will be hoping their budding superstars can align at the right time to make a historic run in their first season.
While I'd love to give the Spark a higher grade, the mixed communication is still a possible red flag for me. Two of their best players are Chinese and the rest of the expected starters are South Korean. I like the depth on this squad and the talent can't be denied, but it'll take a week or two of consistent play to make me a full believer in the boys in pink.
Grade: B+
Vancouver Titans
Park "BUMPER" Sang-beom
Lee "Hooreg" Dong-eun
Lee "Stitch" Chung-hee
Lee "Twilight" Ju-seok
Seo "SeoMinSoo" Min-soo
Kim "Haksal" Hyo-jong
Kim "SLIME" Seong-jun
Kim "RAPEL" Jun-keun
Choi "JJANU" Hyu-woo
Speaking of the boys in pink, we move from the New Boys in Pink to the Old Boys in Pink. The Overwatch Contenders 2018 Season 2: South Korean champions RunAway were signed in full by the Titans, and they are hoping to reap the benefits of picking up a team that needs no time to adjust to one another. Unlike other expansion teams in Season 2, the fun-loving RunAw--Vancouver Titans have already won a championship together in a different league and will have better chemistry than all but a few teams in the league early in the season.
There will be questions on how RunAway's and Contenders South Korea's power levels compare to the Overwatch League, but it'll be exciting to see that debate answered. We have a championship Contenders team coming over to Overwatch League with the London Spitfire and NYXL, and we get to see them play! No theorycrafting. No half-and-half rosters. We get to see Neon Green RunAway in its full glory versus the best teams in the world.
Kim "Haksal"Hyo-jong was the first player to catch my attention in competitive Overwatch back in the first season of APEX at the end of 2016, and after years of waiting, his graceful (and deadly) Genji will finally be unveiled on the world stage. February 14 couldn't come any sooner.
Grade: A