Overwatch League Stage 1 winners London Spitfire have placed four players in the inactive list as they sought to double down on their playoff push following a string of poor performances and results. In a statement released earlier today, the team which consisted of OGN APEX Season 3 Runners-Up Cloud9 KongDoo and Season 4 Winners, GC Busan has put four players in the inactive list.

• Hyeon-woo “HaGoPeun” Jo (Support)
• Jang-hyeon “TiZi” Hwang (Tank)
• Seung-hyun “WooHyaL” Seong (Flex tank)
• Dong-eun “Hooreg” Lee (DPS)

By doing so, these players, while still remain as players of the team, can pretty much wave goodbye to any chance of seeing any playtime for the remainder of the season. According to the official statement, the team “look to focus on a smaller, core starting roster”. Up til the announcement, the Spitfire had a roster of 11 players.

“The aforementioned players will remain with Spitfire until the end of their contracts, and we will help them in every way to find new opportunities with other Overwatch teams. We are grateful to have had these players make up part of the inaugural Spitfire season and wish them the best moving forward.” it added.

While such move of placing players in the inactive list isn’t entirely new in professional sports, Spitfire’s move to do so during a crucial stage of the season might appear odd but is somewhat necessary. Not only have they been well below their best after finishing Stage 3 5-5 and starting Stage 4 0-2, they are in dangerous position of missing out on the playoffs as well. They are currently the third-best team in the Atlantic Division and will soon be caught up by others if this form continues.

They need to solidify their ranks with their best players available. A huge roster may be good for the long season but leaves so much room for discontent amongst players who aren’t getting enough playtime. With eight games remaining (on top of a playoff run), there is little need for a deep pool of supporting fringe players.

This move leaves the Spitfire with only two DPS (Birdring & Profit), three supports (Closer, Bdosin & NUS) , one flex (Fury) and only ONE main tank in Gesture.

We feel that these four players, while deemed unfit to be in Spitfire’s starting six, would easily start in at least six other Overwatch League teams as they are THAT talented. Hagopeun’s aggressive support style (ala NYXL’s Ark) might not bode well with the Spitfire style but would do wondrous for aggressive teams like the Fusion. Meanwhile, WooHyal had to challenge one of the best tanks in the league, Gesture for a spot but will be a shoo-in in the likes of Florida or Shanghai. Hooreg is one of the most versatile DPS players out there but he’s on an uphill battle to outshine Birdring and Profit – arguably the deadliest DPS duo in the league.

We hope these guys land on their feet and we wish them all the best in their professional careers. Hopefully they stick around in the Overwatch League once Season 2 kicks off.