For the 2021 Overwatch League season, the San Francisco Shock is apparently leaning into the old adage of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Andy Miller, the CEO of the team’s parent company NRG Esports, revealed in a Reddit AMA that the Shock’s “core” players and head coach will be re-signed for the next season.
On Sept. 10, Miller participated in a thread on NRG Esports’ Reddit page. Fans could ask questions about the esports scene or the organization’s many teams. One fan asked about the status of the San Francisco Shock roster for the 2021 Overwatch League season and Miller gave a surprisingly transparent response considering the relative infancy of the roster construction process for next year.
“Core already resigned for next year,” Miller replied, adding that head coach Park “Crusty” Da-hee is included in that deal. As head coach, Crusty orchestrated the San Francisco Shock’s 2019 Overwatch League championship as well as two monthly tournament wins in the 2020 season.
While the answer is incredibly revealing, fans are left to their own devices to figure out the identities of the “core” players Miller is referring to. San Francisco currently has 10 players on its roster. Three players were added during the 2020 season: flex support Lee “Twilight” Joo-seok, hitscan DPS Lee “ANS” Seon-chang, and flex DPS Sean “Ta1yo” Henderson. “Core” may only refer to players that have had long-standing contracts since 2019 or 2018.
Miller has spoken at length about the idea of a San Francisco Shock “dynasty” in the past, which he mentioned again in this Reddit thread. In the first season of the Overwatch League, the Shock had mediocre results, but Miller bought into the idea of building for the future. After focusing on skilled players and staff, that patience paid off with a 2019 championship.
San Francisco’s next game is against the Philadelphia Fusion on Sept. 12 at 2pm CT as a part of the 2020 Overwatch League postseason. The winner of that match will automatically move on to this season’s Grand Finals bracket.
