The #Overwatch League’s “#Rostermania” has so far been dominated by retirement posts and management changes. Unexpectedly, the third-place team from the season is suddenly the first to make significant player cuts.
The #HoustonOutlaws made the announcement today that they are cutting ties with supporters Joseph #Lep Cambriani and Kim #Creative Young-wan as well as tank Tomas #Doge Kongsre. The first multi-player announcement for the offseason of 2022 is this one.
Meanwhile, as they are getting ready for year 2023, the Boston Uprising have signed Aaron #PRE Heckman, who was in charge of Washington Justice until recently.
The Road to Boston
In the second half of the 2022 season, PRE notably resigned from his post as general manager of the Justice. In the midst of significant changes that left the squad with just a core roster of five players, he appeared to delete his Twitter account and switched to a senior advisory position within the business.
Boston is another a squad that is undergoing significant changes, with these changes taking place early in the summer and in the second half of the 2022 season. Former general manager Chris #HuK Loranger, head coach Kim #Lori Seung-hyun, and assistant coach Dennis #Barroi Matz all left their positions in late July. Last week, the squad also parted ways with interim general manager Vytis #Mineral Lasaitis and head coach Valentin #Ascot Wulfman.
With few employees left over from 2022, PRE might have a significant chance to reestablish the Uprising company’s basis. The nine-player roster for the team has not been altered, but the offseason has just begun.
Boston has had difficulty moving up the Overwatch League ladder over the halfway point during the course of its five years in the league. The squad had a 10-14 regular season record in 2022, although they improved in the second half of the year.
Houston, We Have a Problem
In the second half of the 2022 season, all three Outlaws’ players were added to the roster. In an effort to complete its roster and prepare for potential meta changes, Houston recruited Lep and Doge in the first few days of August. Kim #lr1s Seung-hyun, a former Outlaws flex supporter, was traded to the Seoul Dynasty in exchange for Creative.
Except for Creative, who moved into the starting support position with Mun #Lastro Jungwon, none of the late-season signees had considerable playing time. As the Outlaws were fully dedicated to running veteran DPS player Dante #Danteh Cruz in the tank role, Doge and Lep both saw very little stage time.
When it mattered, though, Creative and Lastro made for a dynamic pair, adequately backing the team’s DPS superstars in the playoffs.
In the Overwatch League playoff bracket, Houston finished third, losing to the San Francisco Shock in the losers’ final. 2022 was the team’s most fruitful season ever thanks to that outcome and a 16-8 regular season record.
