Most of the focus during the Overwatch League offseason is normally on player moves, but building a better coaching staff is also critically important for future success. Both the Philadelphia Fusion and London Spitfire announced new head coach additions earlier today.
London instated Christopher “ChrisTFer” Graham, a former assistant coach for the Fusion, as its new head coach. Meanwhile, Philadelphia promoted Cho “J1N” Hyo-jin to head coach from its Overwatch Contenders academy team.
ChrisTFer was a former player in competitive Overwatch’s early years who later moved on to coaching, working closely with Team United Kingdom in multiple years of the Overwatch World Cup. He was a part of the Fusion coaching staff for two seasons.
The Spitfire recently dropped six players and its former head coach, Mads “fischer” Jehg, ahead of the 2022 season. ChrisTFer will now be a part of the team’s complete roster revamp.
As for the Fusion, J1N fills the head coach position left by Kim “NineK” Bum-hoon’s departure. J1N was a former coach for the Guangzhou Charge and most recently coached the Fusion’s Contenders academy team, T1, in South Korea.
Philadelphia is also likely to attempt a major rebuild, only re-signing DPS Lee “Carpe” Jae-hyeok and flex support Kim “Alarm” Kyung-bo thus far, according to the league’s 2021 Contract Status update. The remainder of the team’s players have announced their free agency or have retired.
