Washington Justice reveal branding, announce four players to roster

After weeks of speculation, Washington D.C. have announced their branding and some of their roster information for their 2019 lineup, including star players and coaches such as Song “Janus” Jun-hwa and Kim “WizardHyeong” Hyeong-seok. Washington Justice have gone for a more classical approach to their branding as they have stuck to the theme of American pride to represent the nation’s capital during the Overwatch League next season.

© Blizzard Entertainment

Washington Justice announced this week the official signings of Corey “Corey” Nigra, Ethan “Stratus” Yankel and Hyang-ki “SanSam” Kim to their lineup.

The hammer of Justice

Washington D.C. has always been a hub for angry sports fans that are eager to see their teams compete at the highest level. After the Washington Capitals recent Stanley Cup triumph, the insatiable hunger for championship winning teams has grown to a fever pitch and Washington Justice are the next team in line to deliver on that promise.

Starting in the offseason, the Washington Justice got off to a great start once their moves for Janus and WizardHyeong from the NYXL was officially leaked. Mark Ein, Owner of the team and founder of Washington Esports Ventures, has taken the reins of the operation and put key staff in charge to make sure this venture into the Overwatch League is a successful one.

© Washington Justice

At the moment, Washington Justice have a whopping six coaches on their staff, ranging from simple analysts to gameplay specialists that will be assisting WizardHyeong on his journey to take this team to brand new heights. Although his tenure at NYXL was cut short due to underperforming in the playoffs, there’s no question his insight to the game is still valuable as he looks to continue where he left off with a star Main Tank player like Janus at his side.

Janus was widely considered the most consistent player in his role last year. Although he never made those jaw dropping, game saving plays as a Tank, his ability to always remain at the right place at the right time and provide spacing for his carries became a hallmark of his game and he will look to improve on those strengths this season. As good as Janus may be, no team is complete without a stellar roster to accompany him and Washington Justice are still ironing out roster moves as they prepare for Season Two.

Building team culture

With just four players announced so far, its probable that Washington end up going for a split roster of Korean and Western talent given their pickups this far. Corey and Stratus were two familiar faces in the Overwatch Contenders: North America series last year. Stratus was a star attraction on his NRG Esports team as he was regularly the saving grace making hero plays on Genji, Pharah and Tracer on more than one occasion.

© Washington Justice

Corey is a lesser known quantity given his time in the scene but his track record thus far as a member of LA Gladiators Academy was a respectable one. SanSam has plied his trade in Korea for a few years now becoming one of the more fearsome D.Va mains to emerge from the Contenders scene, but there are still legitimate question marks surrounding this team to see if they are capable of making the grade at an Overwatch League level.

The roster is still young and incomplete, but it’s obvious WizardHyeong will be fighting an uphill battle as this roster is nothing like the talent stacked roster NYXL had last year. Even still, Washington Justice can rejoice in the fact they are investing in youth and looking to develop strong players for the long haul. Having people like Stratus and SanSam that are young, coachable and malleable to the teams needs will be crucial to their success down the stretch.

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