Win.gg
News
Runaway drops Overwatch team, has no active teams remaining
Runaway drops Overwatch team, has no active teams remaining
After disbanding its Overwatch team, South Korean esports organization Runaway has no teams or rosters remaining.
Runaway announced the decision on Twitter. The organization explained that the team’s journey “ends today.” According to the post, Runaway’s Overwatch team started in 2016 with “passion and challenge.” Since then, the team continued to receive love and support from fans. But Runaway’s co-founder Runner noted that the organization suffered during the recent global crisis which imposed various restrictions on teams, players, and events.
The Overwatch team’s performance suffered during 2020. They also suffered from Overwatch broadcast rights being transferred to YouTube, according to a translator for Korizon Esports. The resulting reduction in streaming and restreaming opportunities made it difficult for the Overwatch team to earn money.
“We’ve considered this for a long time. For perhaps six to seven months, I’ve thought this over,” Runner said. “We have been operating Runaway for four years, since around 2017, going back to the amateur days when we’d gather around to practice online, and compete in all sorts of tournaments.”
Who is Runaway in Overwatch?
Runaway was founded in 2016 as a team with no sponsors. They really proved themselves in the APEX League, which was similar to the current-day Korea Contenders tournament. Runaway quickly became one of the best Overwatch teams in the scene, winning numerous titles in Korea.
Despite a lot of success on the stage, Runaway was having issues behind the scenes due to a lack of sponsors. A lot of promising players also left the team to play in North America to compete in the Overwatch League, which Runaway was not a part of. When combined with the Overwatch esports scene’s decline as a whole, Runaway made the tough decision to drop its last existing esports squad.
“As you guys know, Overwatch is going through a bit of a difficult time. We didn’t get into this with money in mind. It was because I found competing in Overwatch tournaments so fun, which is why I poured a lot of my own money into it to continue doing so,” Runner said.
Olivia Richman
About Olivia Richman
Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.
View full profile
Read Also
Dota 2
PGL Wallachia Season 9 Playoffs preview and predictions
Michael Hassall
PGL Wallachia Season 9 is the first major tournament since the 2025/2026 Dota 2 season came to its conclusion at TI14, and with the roster shuffle still, well, shuffling, and top teams skipping the event while they get things finalized, it’s been an unusual tournament so far. With some surprising names in the playoffs (especially if you’ve been following the scene for the rest of the year) and the absence ...
Kick
Kick Admits KPP Payment Errors — Ethan Wright Explains Calculation Changes
Khizar Mundia
Kick creators have been claiming that something is wrong with their KPP payouts for some time now. Co-founder Eddie Craven and Director Ethan Wright both addressed the issues, blaming technical difficulties and stating the issue would be rectified, but creators have continued to allege that it hasn’t been fixed — and Wright has now given an update about KPP changes that he hopes will put the issue to bed. In ...
News
How Good Will Nintendo Switch Sports Resort Be?
Zachary Roberts
The Nintendo Switch run of games has been excellent by most metrics, but there are some things they haven't managed to do better than in previous attempts. Since 2017, Nintendo has put out a ton of outstanding games. They've won awards, and the Switch is the second-best-selling console ever; it may even end up in first eventually. That said, there are some things that have been replicated for the Switch ...
News
Kalshi Strikes Deal With Tunica-Biloxi Tribe
Emma Somersett-MacMillan
The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe from Louisiana is joining the rapidly growing prediction market industry. They have formed a new partnership with Kalshi, and this has enabled it to be the first Native American tribe to introduce its own prediction market platform via the company’s framework. This was announced on September 18, 2026, during a time when several other tribes are questioning the growth and development of Kalshi. They object to this ...
Kick
Kick Offers Viewers More Visibility in Chats — Here’s How the New KICKs Pinned Messages Work
Khizar Mundia
2026 has been a stellar year for Kick users, with the brand investing substantially in very visible updates. The livestreaming platform has now introduced another new option where Kick viewers can use KICKs to pin and highlight their messages in chats. Twitch and Kick have several similarities, which makes sense given that the Stake-backed platform launched as a competitor to the Amazon-backed giant. Bits are a common method for viewers ...
Valorant
Will zekken Leave MIBR in 2026?
Hannan Mundia
Competitive Valorant has given rise to multiple talented professional players, but zekken stands as a powerful fragger even among them. While his glory days were definitely when he was on Sentinels during their iconic run, the player is now part of MIBR, which promised to create a super team. Unfortunately for zekken, the team has fallen short of that promise. With a disappointing 2026 season, rumors have started that zekken ...
News
What are Card Rips? The New Way to Trade Collectibles Explained
Ben Boland
Card rips are a new form of digital pack opening in which users can reveal physical trading cards and choose to sell, store or have them shipped to them. They are attracting serious interest among sweepstakes players. Currently, most card rip sites are separate from online casinos. However, some sweepstakes sites have foreseen the potential popularity of this form of this type of product and are offering their users the ...