Coming off of their fifth first-place finish in Overwatch Contenders, Fusion University—the academy team for the Philadelphia Fusion—has announced that they will be making the move from the North American region to compete in Overwatch Contenders Korea.
After proving time and again that we are the best in the West, a new challenge is calling.
— Fusion University (@FusionUni) June 2, 2019
We are excited to announce that we will be participating in Contenders Trials in Korea for this upcoming season! #GoFU pic.twitter.com/8IoRLXUYxx
The announcement was given by Fusion University via their Twitter channel. In the post, Fusion University boasts about their continued success in Contenders North America, stating that they’ll be moving on to what is considered a more competitive region. Indeed, FU has had an impressive record. Coming off of a 30-game winning streak, the team has won four Contenders North America Championships and reigned supreme during the recent Atlantic Showdown. However, there’s more to this unprecedented move than just searching for a new challenge.
Starting in the 2019 season of Overwatch Contenders, Blizzard had initiated a “region-lock” rule. According to the Overwatch Contenders Rule Book, “All teams in Contenders may not have more than three (3) non-Residents checked in at any given time including substitutes.” With a largely Korean roster, this would mean that FU wouldn’t be able to compete in Contenders North America with its current starting line-up. While granted limited grandfathering for the 2019 seasons, FU would have to make some massive changes should they have stayed in NA.
Just wanted to give some clarity on the decision to move @FusionUni to Korea. We have an amazing team and we (cont) https://t.co/Tkzj2LmUCA
— Tucker (@BLT) June 2, 2019
President of the Philadelphia Fusion, Tucker “BLT” Roberts took to TwitLonger to clarify the decision. “For us the decision to move to Korea comes in part due to import restrictions,” read Roberts’ statement. “We don't want to have to part ways with players we believe in who are from outside the US. We aren't in contenders to develop NA talent for other OWL teams - some of which don't even have a contenders team because it's expensive - we are in it to develop talent for the Fusion.”
We look forward to seeing how Fusion University fairs in the Korean region, as well as seeing what will happen in Contenders North America with one less team, let alone the most dominant one.
(Feature image courtesy of Overwatch Contenders)
