Vancouver Titans release OWL roster, give explanation for why

After a lengthy silence, Overwatch League team Vancouver Titans has finally addressed the rumors surrounding the organization’s contracted players following the release of their head coach, assistant coach, and star off-tank Hyeon-Woo “JJANU” Choi.

Fans have been chatting about what’s been happening with the team since every member of the roster removed any mention of their Titans affiliation from their Twitter bios. Shortly after that move came the announcement that the Titans were releasing their head coach, assistant coach, and JJANU, which only further stoked fires around the community. They also had made a switch in division, moving from the North American region to the Asian region.

In a post titled “A Letter to Our Fans”, Titans esports director Tim Holloway talks about the effect the ongoing global pandemic has had on the team and details the decision to send the players home to their respective families in Korea. 

Holloway says that the organization was not able to meet the players’ expectations in Korea, and then lists in full the members of the team that have mutually agreed to part ways with the team. This includes: 

• HyoJong “HakSal” Kim
• Minsoo “Seominsoo” Seo
• Seongjun “Slime” Kim
• Chunghee “Stitch” Lee
• Juseok “Twilight” Lee
• JeHong “RyuJeHong” Yu
• Yangwon “Yang1” Kweon (coach)
• Jae Hong “Andante” Hwang (coach)

Also mentioned is Chan Hyeong “Fissure” Baek, though instead of listing him as a member of the team who mutually part ways, the Titans described him as being “released”. What this distinction actually means is unknown.

Why did the Vancouver Titans part with their OWL roster?

There is little doubt in the minds of the Overwatch community that something big happened behind all this, and the statement released by Holloway doesn’t do much to further elaborate on what exactly occurred. As the situation develops, there may be more information released as to what exactly led to the breakdown between the organization and its roster. 

For the team going forward, Holloway has declared his support for the tier-two scene and has told fans that their plan to introduce their new core members of the team will be shared soon. No mention of their upcoming OWL game this weekend has been made, so it is unclear if the Titans will still be playing this weekend against the Washington Justice and Florida Mayhem.