After months of speculation and fans begging for him to be picked up by an Overwatch League team, Kim “Rascal” Dong-jun has found a home with the Philadelphia Fusion.
The former San Francisco Shock flex DPS has been a free agent since October 2020 when he was released by the two-time championship team. And today, he posted a selfie from the Fusion practice facility alongside multiple members of the team, indicating that he’s joined the squad in South Korea.
In his announcement tweet, he referenced an incendiary message he sent the Philadelphia squad during the 2020 Overwatch League playoffs. What goes around comes around.
Rascal had been silent about his plans to join another team during the entire Overwatch League offseason but posted vague hints about the process in late February. Earlier this week, he told his Discord community that he had found a team but wasn’t allowed to stream from the team facility until he was officially announced.
Rascal has had one of the most dramatic and illustrious careers in the Overwatch League. He started his journey as a part of the London Spitfire but was acquired by the Dallas Fuel shortly after the inaugural season began. Rascal’s time with the Dallas Fuel was short and he was dropped after management accused him of an “unwillingness to communicate.”
After dropping down to Overwatch Contenders on NRG Esports, the San Francisco Shock bumped him up from the academy team before the second season began. Rascal spent two years as the Shock’s clutch flex DPS, learning new heroes like Baptiste and Echo at unbelievable speed. The Shock parted ways with him after the 2020 season ended.
While Philadelphia is stacked with DPS players already, the team might be suffering from visa issues with European and Middle Eastern players struggling to get to South Korea. Flex DPS Josue “EQO” Corona hails from Israel and new addition Niclas “sHockWave” Smidt Jensen comes from Denmark. The visa process from these countries has been slow due to COVID-19 variants in the region.
The Philadelphia Fusion will be playing from South Korea as part of the East region during the 2021 Overwatch League season. Philadelphia’s first game will be against the Seoul Dynasty at 7am CT on April 17.
Update March 15 2:50pm CT: The Philadelphia Fusion has officially announced Rascal as a part of its 2021 roster.
