Around the OWL: WizardHyeong signs with Seoul, Edison to Atlanta?

Overwatch
08/11/2019
Nicolas Vera

The Overwatch League transfer market continues to heat up as rosters make their moves, and coaching staff changes are also underway. Seoul Dynasty made headlines after making a blockbuster move for former London Spitfire duo Profit and Gesture. This week, they are compiling the name brand value with another high level acquisition. Hyeong-seok “WizardHyeong” Kim is set to join the team at the Strategic Coach role in order to help his team out tactically. WizardHyeong is no stranger to playing with high level players, and this lineup is no different to the highly favored rosters he’s handled in the past such as NYXL and LW Blue.

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Also in the news, reports have surfaced once again via Aaron ‘Halo’ Brown that Atlanta Reign are planning on snapping up the GC Busan DPS player Tae-Hoon “Edison” Kim for the 2020 season. Edison has been highly touted in the Overwatch Contenders: Korea scene as his biggest moments last year gave him praise that rivaled talents such as Sp9rk1e and Yaki. If the leak ends up coming to fruition, Atlanta Reign might have themselves one of the scariest DPS duos in the entire league.

WizardHyeong signs with Seoul

© NYXL

WizardHyeong joins the Dynasty

After the massive coupe that Seoul Dynasty pulled off this offseason, picking up Gesture and Profit for next to nothing and keeping their most solid players in response, it seemed like all the lights were green for the Korean organization hell bent on success for 2020. Seoul Dynasty’s ownership announced earlier in the year that they were pulling out all the stops for the team, and mediocrity would not be accepted with this new look roster.

Adding to that claim, Seoul Dynasty’s pick up of WizardHyeong could possibly be a personnel change that bodes well for their strategy, and also builds a link to Western fans with his bilingual ability. In his first year at NYXL, WizardHyeong was one of the biggest faces at the organization due to his English, becoming one of the most recognizable faces for Western fans.

As NYXL lost WizardHyeong to Washington Justice in the year after, their profile amongst Western fans fell off slightly as no one on the playing or coaching staff was consistently relaying information about the team through their ups and downs. This is an asset Seoul Dynasty will undoubtedly use to their advantage to build their profile abroad.

Not only is WizardHyeong a tactically sound mind when it comes to Overwatch with his diligent research, but he is also an extremely charismatic and engaging individual that can garner interest for his team. His appearances on shows like Oversight have made him a cult favorite for Overwatch fans who enjoy thoughtful insight on the game.

This year will no doubt be a make or break year for the Strategic Coach, though. After a dismal spell as Head Coach of the Washington Justice, some of his tactics were called into question once Washington Justice started to pick up results and win games one way or another with him out of the picture.

Was he the main problem on an ailing Washington Justice? More than likely not. But it has seemed a little weird for his coaching credentials since joining the Overwatch League that he hasn’t been able to impress on two different rosters with wide variance in how those teams have performed.

Read also: Transfer confirmed: Nevix signs with Toronto Defiant, Fissure joins Vancouver

All about the Edison’s

The Atlanta Reign may very well be on the verge of one of the best low key signings of the offseason if they secure the services of Edison as previously reported. The GC abusan WAVE player has made waves all throughout 2019 for his insane mechanical ability. His praise has rivaled the likes of Sp9rk1e, another highly touted DPS player that is also joining the Overwatch League this off-season from Korea.

Last year, Atlanta Reign made some noise in the league with their engaging fanbase and interesting roster moves, but their consistency against the very top teams were lacking come playoff time. With Erster and Edison firing shots on Atlanta’s DPS line, the damage output will be something else to deal with and Atlanta Reign could very well make a name for themselves on that alone.

The only problem for the foreseeable future is the slight overlap in hero pool between Edison and Erster that could complicate some team compositions depending on the matchup with other teams. Both players have a knack for popping off with McCree and Reaper, but only one can get the reins on any given hero once on stage. The good thing about the offseason is that both players will have plenty of time to warm up to each other until that point.

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