As we are nearing the deadline for the OWL teams to announce their rosters, we have more announcement regarding new & old faces joining the League.

Hangzhou Sparks Released Full Rosters Lineup

In a series of tweets, the pink & blue team has finalized their lineup. Sadly, none of the ex-Runaway players made it to this team even though we were kinda hoping to see them in the pink getup again. Chengdu, Washington, & Vancouver has yet to announce their rosters so the ex-Runaway team might be signed with one of them.

Hangzhou has 2 Chinese players & 8 Koreans in their team. Utilizing a full team from the Contenders Korea & China scene, Hangzhou is set to spark the OWL 2019 matches.

Welcome our DPS Duo @GodsB_OW and @Bazziow !!!?(???)?
Bang!!!!? pic.twitter.com/xrVeRX969N

— Hangzhou Spark (@Hangzhou_Spark) November 19, 2018

Both Krystal & Guxue have played for Team China this year and their experience on the big stage could be an extra advantage to the expansion team. GodsB, the name that was always on the tip of the broadcasters during the Contenders Korea Season 1, is set to be one of the deadliest DPS players in the league. He was with X6 gaming and gave Runaway one hell of a time during the Semifinals Season 1.

Now we are in Hangzhou to have a city tour o(?????)o? pic.twitter.com/NJEu0EY4cW

— Hangzhou Spark (@Hangzhou_Spark) November 22, 2018

Hangzhou Sparks coaches & players announced are:

• Cai “Krystal” Shilong – DPS (previously T1w; Contenders China)
• Yoon “BeBe” Hui-Chang – Flex Support (previously X6-Gaming; Contenders Korea)
• An “Revenge” Hyeong-geun – Flex Support (previously Seven; Contenders Korea)
• Park “iDK” Ho-Jin – Support (previously Lucky Future Zenith; Contenders China)
• Kim “GodsB” Kyeon-Bo – DPS (previously X6-Gaming; Contenders Korea)
• Park “Bazzi” Jun-ki – DPS (previously Seven; Contenders Korea)
• Kang “Adora” Jae-Hwan – DPS (previously Seven; Contenders Korea)
• Park “Ria” Seong-wook – Off Tank (previously X6-Gaming; Contenders Korea)
• Xu “Guxue” Qiulin – Main Tank (previously Team China, LGD Gaming; OWWC, Contenders China)
• Jeong “NoSmite” Da-Un – Tank (previously X6-Gaming; Contenders Korea)
• Lee “MASK” Mu-ho – Head Coach (previously X6-Gaming; Contenders Korea)
• Han “Sup7eme” Seung-Jun – Assistant Coach (previously Seven; Contenders Korea)
• Gao “Yindong” Hang – Assistant Coach (LGD Gaming; Contenders China)

Good luck with the League, Hangzhou Sparks!

Guangzhou Charge Announced Diverse Rosters

The latest rosters announcement from Guangzhou Charge was a bit of a surprise to the community. Though still with the majority of Korean players from Meta Bellum (which is in fact, one of the best team in Korea), they have also announced players from China, USA & the UK.

?????Introducing the 2019 Guangzhou Charge Lineup! @osp0418 @Chara_RRRing @wjddn1763 @WonJaeLee_OW @HOTBA_OW @kongzzang_shu @nero_overwatch @KYB @OnlyWish_ – Feel The Charge! pic.twitter.com/bmulyimLke

— Guangzhou Charge (@GZCharge) November 23, 2018

As of now, Guangzhou Charge is the only diverse team in the rosters from the all the Chinese team in OWL2019. We have yet to hear news from Chengdu.

Kyb showed a tremendous flex play during the OWWC 2018 against USA & Korea. His Roadhog play managed to stop Fleta from reigning the sky & his gameplay enables his teammates to fulfil their full potential. Kyb is a team player and we look forward to watching his fantastic play in the league!

I am also glad to see Nero & Shu back in the scene, in an Overwatch League team no less. Especially after the issues regarding Toronto Esports which disbanded at the last minute before the start of Contenders Season 3.

We have been informed by Blizzard that we will be forced to remove “Toronto” from our brand in only 6 weeks. Mid Contenders season 3. The reason cited: @TorontoDefiant have purchased “exclusive naming rights”. We will be leaving Overwatch effective immediately. Good riddance.

— TO (@TOesports) November 13, 2018

The Guangzhou Charge players announced are:

• Kim “Chara” Jung-Yeon – Support (previously Meta Bellum, Contenders Korea)
• Kim “Shu” Jin-Seo – Flex Support (previously Toronto Esports, Contenders NA)
• Oh “Rio” Seuong-pyo – Tank (previously Meta Bellum, Contenders Korea)
• Lee “Happy” Jung-woo – DPS (previously Meta Bellum, Contenders Korea)
• Ou “Eileen” Yilang – DPS (previously LGD Gaming, Contenders China)
• Lee “WonJaeLee” Won-jae – Flex Support (previously Meta Bellum, Contenders Korea)
• Chen “OnlyWish” Lizhen – Support  (previously LGD Gaming, Contenders China)
• Charlie “nero” Zwarg – DPS (previously Toronto Esports, Contenders NA)
• Finley “Kyb” Adisi – Tank  (previously British Hurricane, Contenders EU)

Charge ahead, Guangzhou!

Chengdu Hunters Teased Rosters

In their Weibo account, Chengdu uploaded a picture of what could be their players. Each players’ faces are covered with a photo of a Chengdu’s panda icon to tease the community. In the post, they also mentioned that the official announcement will be made next week. (As reported by Reddit).

 Picture from Chengdu Hunters’ weibo account 

We’ll be sure to update when Chengdu announce their players!

Contenders APAC Heated It Up This Week

The teams have made incredible plays during the opening week of Contenders Pacific. Though the GOATS meta is still dominant, the Pacific teams did show some difference in their composition.

At one point, THK from Xavier Esports decided to use Torbjorn during Numbani on defence. They managed to hold the point but at the last minute, We Are Eternal Gaming managed to capture the payload. Xavier Esports ultimately won the series with a 3-1 finish.

LYNX TH & Giant Esports, 2 other Thailand teams were not able to take their first series but both teams did not give in easily. LYNX TH took it to game 5 against GrandXur with a 2-3 lost, while Giant Esports took 1 map from New Paradigm with a 1-3 lost.

It is still early in the season and we do expect a lot of good plays from the teams. I mean, during the last week we have seen monstrous D.Va bombs & Earthshatters that totally changed the game, making the viewers & broadcasters at the edge of their seats.

We are entering Week 2 for Pacific Contenders this week and week 3 for some of the other regions. Despite the Overwatch League being in the off-season, the Overwatch Contenders is worth tuning into, especially since these players might be future stars of the League.