The inaugural season champions are back for season two. This team found a spark that led them through the post-season to the finals, taking them to the only team trophy so far in this league. But with brand new teams and heavily changed ones, how will they fare in season two? The first season for the Spitfire was inconsistent to say the least, winning Stage 1 before failing to make any stage finals after. Alas, their last stage was their worst, but their playoff form made their fans forget about it. The Spitfire was one of the few teams to make very little changes to its roster, but is that thinking the right one for this team?
Up until Feb. 14, I’m going to go over each team and what’s changed since the inaugural season. Each team will have its own article, going over which players and coaches left, and who has replaced them. After going over the changes and my opinions on them, I’m going to rate them much like I did in my weekly series last season. This rating will be a little more in-depth, considering I have more time than a week to look over the teams, especially the new ones.
Will the champs be serious contenders for season two? Let’s look into the roster of the London Spitfire.
Roster
Damage players (DPS)
The DPS players for the London Spitfire are Joon-yeong “Profit” Park, Ji-hyeok “birdring” Kim, and Hee-dong “Guard” Lee.
Starting off with Profit, there isn’t much to be said. He was the season playoff MVP for a reason, making some clutch plays in the finals. He is not only one of the best DPS players in the game, but also one of the most flexible along with fellow Korean players Libero and Fleta. Profit plays heroes such as Junkrat, Pharah, Tracer, and so much more at a top tier. He was crucial to London’s success, and even when London wasn’t playing well, the blame was never on him.
That leads us to his teammate, Birdring. He was the unquestionable partner to Profit, mainly playing Genji and McCree. One thing about him was his wrist injury, which happened just after their Stage 1 win. It was funny to both him and his fans when he admitted it was due to getting angry at the game Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy. But what wasn’t funny was his clear drop of form since then, only making up for it in the season playoffs. He was heavily criticized by the casters and analysts before then, but it was clear that the injury was still affecting him a lot. We don’t know for sure why his form dropped so far so quickly, but he did play much better when it mattered.
One person that was clearly an interest to London was one of their new pickups: Guard. He formerly played for Element Mystic of Korean Contenders, heavily regarded as one of the best DPS players in that region. Guard is known for his Sombra play but is flexible enough to also play Tracer at a high level. This is a very good pickup for London, as he will fill that substitute role more like a surprise factor, much like Pine did for New York last year. But instead of the Widowmaker and McCree, expect Guard’s Sombra to wreak havoc on current Overwatch League players.
Tank players
The tank players for the London Spitfire are Jae-hee “Gesture” Hong and Jun-ho “Fury” Kim.
For those who don’t know, London hasn’t made a change on their tank line. Both these tanks are the same ones who led their team to victory in the inaugural season. Gesture is the main tank, playing Winston, Orisa, and Reinhardt at a top-tier level. He was one of the key players in their postseason form, making plenty of plays with Profit in the finals. Fury was just as important. He was their D.Va and Zarya player, having so many great D.Va Ultimates in the finals that led to their win.
Support players
The support players for the London Spitfire are Seung-tae “Bdosin” Choi, Jong-seok “NUS” Kim, and Yung-hoon “Krillin” Jung.
Bdosin and Nus were the main two supports for most of the season on this team. When London’s massive roster was cut down mid-season, these two were the duo that started almost every game. Bdosin is the Zenyatta player, also flexing to Moira and Ana at a very high level. Nus was less noticeable but still very good when needed, playing Mercy, Lucio, and Ana. Both these players were instrumental to their playoff wins in their own way, with Bdosin’s Zenyatta play and Nus’ flexibility.
The most interesting pickup of the off-season happens to be London’s third support: Krillin. Unlike most players, he last played for an Open Division team in Korea. Open Division is the third league in the competitive Overwatch circuit, with Contenders and the league itself being above it. Even then, he played for a team that finished in the bottom of that division, getting eliminated in the round of sixteen to the future winners, GC Busan Wave. Krillin must’ve really impressed them in tryouts to get in, as a lot of people judge you on your previous experience. People compare him to JJonak, another player who came into the league with very little competitive experience. Krillin is also a Zenyatta player, being able to flex onto Ana and Moira as well. Is he the next JJonak or just a good substitute? I guess we’ll see.
Departures
The player and coach who’ve left the London Spitfire (after the postseason) are Won-sik “Closer” Jung on support and Chang-geun “changgoon” Park in coaching.
Closer was a bit of an odd one out on the London roster. He stayed after the massive changes made before their season playoffs, but he never saw any playing time over Nus. He is similar to Nus in the heroes he played, playing Mercy, Lucio, and Ana. The team must’ve seen the synergy Nus brought though and ended up trading Closer to the Dallas Fuel.
Changgoon was the only coach to leave the Spitfire, joining another Overwatch League team: Seoul Dynasty.
Starting team and prediction
The starting roster for the London Spitfire should be Profit and Birding on DPS, Gesture and Fury on tank, and Bdosin and Krillin on support.
Being the champions in the first ever Overwatch League season has weight to it. Pressure is now on this team to perform just as well as last year. We’ll have to see at the end of the year how the Spitfire fare. But how good are they right now?
I’m giving the Spitfire a 9/10. They haven’t lost anything that led them to their title win, and they even gained depth in areas they needed. They squeaked into the season playoffs in fifth place, in one of the last two possible playoff spots. But being seeded in fifth led them to their finals win, struggling through very good teams to get there. Now, with more depth, consistency is all they need to try to go back to back.
For more insights, check out my analysis on the Los Angeles Gladiators.
Agree with my opinion? Think I’m completely wrong? Leave a comment with your ideas.
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