There are rumors in play that the London Spitfire is in the process of releasing its entire roster and coaching staff before the 2021 Overwatch League season.
The OWL team became the Grand Champions of the league's inaugural season back in 2018. But when they finished seventh in 2019, London Spitfire dropped its entire roster and entered the 2020 season with fresh-faced rookies. Unfortunately, the team was only able to grab 17th place out of 20 teams. Now the Spitfire team is making similar moves after finishing seventh in the OWL Asia Playoffs this season.
The rumor comes from The Esports Observer's Kevin Hitt, who wrote that his sources told him it's "happening sooner than later." The Spitfire's goal this time will be to source local western European talent. This is a similar strategy to the Vancouver Titans, who dropped their players mid-season to build a North American roster.
Spitfire begin rumored process of cutting coaches, roster
It's most likely coming true already. London Spitfire tweeted that they had let go of four coaches, accounting for their entire coaching team. This tweet prompted some fans to respond with anger, calling out London Spitfire for dropping hardworking coaches who only had rookies to work with.
The rumor is that London Spitfire plans to drop their active playing squad next, possibly replacing them with players from the British Hurricane roster. This is their Contenders team, with most of its players located in the European region. They have been successful in the tier 2 Overwatch scene, making it a likely step up for Spitfire.
While the London Spitfire is busy looking for local talent, the rest of the Overwatch League teams will most likely have their eye on members of their former roster. DPS star Gil-seon "Glister" Lim is an impressive Widowmaker player who can also shine on Ashe, McCree, and Tracer.
