Philadelphia Fusion announce 2020 Overwatch roster

After a disappointing 2019 season, Philadelphia Fusion knew it was time to return to the drawing board in order to achieve success. With much deliberation over how their roster would look like with the anticipated departure of Josue “Eqo” Corona, fans were prepared for a complete identity change from the Fusion in what may have been a season of consolidation for 2020.

Instead, the Philadelphia Fusion have been revamped in an emphatic manner with a plethora of advantageous new signings at their disposal. With their latest roster announcement via Twitter, the Philadelphia Fusion have welcomed Daniel “FunnyAstro” Hathaway, Junho “Fury” Kim and Kyung-bo “Alarm” Kim to their ranks in an effort to sweep the Overwatch League by storm.

Is this new look Philly lineup capable of repeating the heights they achieved in Season One? Or will the addition of big names be a boon to their chances when it’s all said and done?

The Great Bait

After Eqo’s surprise ‘release’ from Philadelphia Fusion earlier this month, it seemed like Philadelphia we’re ready to undergo a rebuilding phase with the imminent departure of one of their most consistent assets on the team. Instead, Philadelphia Fusion trolled their entire community in a way Team SoloMid could only dream of doing, and their fanbase has rejoiced in the seemingly positive changes the Fusion have made.

With the addition of Fury to the lineup via London Spitfire, Philadelphia Fusion are pulling no punches in their hybrid Korean-Western team dynamic and the additions they are making this season show their ambition to win big rather than coast for another season of mediocrity. Losing Eqo would have been detrimental to their chances, but the way in which Philadelphia sequenced their releases and signings with this announcement shows that there are still a few teams in esports that know how to give a roster reveal its proper attention. (Once again, take note TSM).

The additions of FunnyAstro and Alarm are the ambitious moves Philly Fusion needed to make in order to properly compete in all facets of the game next season. In certain respects last year, Philadelphia Fusion were simply bested by teams with better latent potential. Adding a hyper aggressive flex support like FunnyAstro will give the Fusion a new layer of complexity that could bode well with the ‘in your face’ playstyle or Poko already on the lineup.

© Philadelphia Fusion

Looking forward

While Philadelphia Fusion got after it early with these roster moves, the rest of the league now has a clear barometer on just how potentially strong Fusion can become at the start of the season. At this stage of free agency, it is still extremely premature to practice and compete as a team with the meta still in flux for the following season, but developing the synergy at this point of the offseason instead of waiting till the last possible month with holidays on the horizon is a clear indication that Philly aren’t playing around with their chances this year.

On the backs of Carpe and Eqo’s heroics in 2018, the Philadelphia Fusion played out a respectable playoff run that saw they topple NYXL and reach the finals against eventual winners London Spitfire. This year, a resurgence of that same intensity will be necessary for survival, and who knows? With the new pieces they have added and the prominent veteran players now at their disposal, the skies the limit for a new look Philly team with just as much technical flair as they do proven skill.

Read also: Discontent and a dozen cancellations setting the tone for upcoming Overwatch World Cup

Comments are closed.