The Toronto Defiant will be sporting a mixed roster come Stage 4 of the Overwatch League.
The 18th-place team announced the signing of Liam “Mangachu” Campbell, with the veteran joining as the new flex DPS. “Joining the Overwatch League has kind of been a dream of mine for a very long time. I think representing one of my local cities, Toronto…Everything is perfect for me,” Mangachu said.
Since Overwatch’s competitive scene began in 2016, Mangachu has been making a name for himself in esports. His competitive career began in the Overwatch World Cup, where he represented Team Canada in 2017 and 2018. He found more regular work in Overwatch Contenders on the New York Excelsior’s XL2 academy team and transitioned to the Mayhem Academy team before its closure.
That wasn’t the only important addition for the team, as Toronto also revealed the signing of Andreas “Logix” Berghmans.
“When we started building this team, one thing we really wanted to do was make Toronto proud,” Toronto Defiant co-founder Marty Strenczewilk explained on their sudden signings.
He went on to discuss the team’s initial plan for a Korean language roster, which paid off with a good run in Stage 1. Things went awry for the Defiant when Lee “Stellar” Do-hyung and Joon-seong “Asher” Choi suddenly retired, which resulted in a marked drop in their performance level.
Their new mixed roster vision has some challenges to overcome, said Strenczewilk. Some of their roster will undergo English lessons to help with communication.
“It’s going to take some time. But we do believe this is an incredibly important path forward and we will be successful in the long term. Bringing on Mangachu and Logix, two more key pieces that will help us to build many championships for the city of Toronto and for Defiant fans around the world,” Strenczewilk said.
The Toronto Defiant’s next game is on June 28, where they face the Los Angeles Gladiators.
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