Super retires from Overwatch League ahead of 2022 season

The Overwatch League is currently gearing up for what looks to be an exciting season. The game is coming back for 2022. This time it is being played on a new early build of Overwatch 2. Not everyone is going to be returning with the new season though. One of Overwatch’s biggest stars has just announced he’s stepping down, with the news that Super retires from Overwatch. This is leaving Shock with a hole in their roster just before the start of a new season.

Super Overwatch

Super Retires from Overwatch

Super is a tank player who has been with San Francisco Shock for a considerable length of time. He was a major part of the team’s success in their 2019 and 2020 back-to-back championship wins. Super joined the team when he was 17 and became a big name in both the League and outside as a streamer. However, that Shock squad had a lot of turnover following these wins, with a lot of faces stepping back or retiring in the 2021 season. Super remained part of the League and even grow in prominence within the League.

While he’s been a part of the OWL’s most celebrated squad, he’s also become a prominent streamer and something of a face for the league. Where most Overwatch players stay limited to the League itself, he’s become a prominent figure in gaming including making talk show appearances.

With the Overwatch League about to return, Super has just announced his retirement from the League. In a lengthy statement posted on Twitter, he’s explained his reasons for stepping down.

This comes as quite a disappointment to a lot of Shock fans and it’s a loss for the Overwatch League in general. However, things are pretty understandable when you consider the big changes coming to the Overwatch League this season.

Overwatch League Returns with Changes

The news that Super retires from Overwatch is a loss for the game, but a sign of major changes coming to both the title and its esports scene. Overwatch is returning this season with a different game. The League is now going to be running on the Overwatch 2 beta. This will mean balancing changes, role changes for heroes, even new heroes, and content. The opening weeks of the Overwatch League 2022 will come just after the first public beta. Probably the biggest change so far is the size of teams in the game.

The Overwatch League this year will be running in a 5-v-5 format. The game’s teams are getting reduced down to five players, removing one of the tank players from each squad. This is a pretty major change to how the game runs. It is going to mean big changes for the League. For a Tank player like Super who has already been in the game for a considerable amount of time, these are big things to adjust to.

There has already been quite a bit of turnover in the overwatch League’s recent seasons. However, the news that Super retires probably won’t be the last major departure before the season is up. As the game is in transition, we can expect to see new talent rise to the forefront. Things are exciting for Overwatch right now, with a sequel and the Microsoft acquisition meaning big changes down the line for the League. While the retirement of big names is a shame for long-term fans, things are looking brighter than in the last few seasons for the game.