Days after the Vancouver Titans organization released its entire original roster amid reports of dissatisfaction from players, the team is starting anew. The organization has picked up a team full of Western Overwatch Contenders talent, culled mostly from the roster of North American Contenders team Second Wind.
All of the original Titans players mutually parted ways with the team May 6. The formerly all-Korean team achieved second place in the 2019 Overwatch League season. No team has ever released an entire roster mid-season, so fans have eagerly been awaiting Vancouver’s next move.
The acquisition of Second Wind players was originally projected by ESPN. Second Wind is a team that participates in North American Overwatch Contenders. As for the remainder of the roster, the Titans organization opted to curate talent from Contenders players around the world.
Support
As a part of the Second Wind pickup, the Titans have acquired competitive Overwatch veteran Randal “Roolf” Stark. The flex support previously played for the Los Angeles Gladiators’ academy team, Gladiators Legion, as well as Team Canada in the 2016 and 2017 Overwatch World Cup competitions. He’s joined by main support Carson “CarCar” First, who most recently played for Atlanta Reign’s Contenders academy team, ATL Academy. The now-defunct team took second place at the Contenders Gauntlet event last year.
Tank
The Titans’ new tank line will be headed by Abtin “ShRedLock” Shirvani, a young main tank who has been playing for Second Wind since mid-2019. Off-tank Alhumaidi “KSAA” Alruwaili will join him. KSAA currently plays for Raspberry Racers in the European division of Overwatch Contenders. He also played for Saudi Arabia in the 2019 Overwatch World Cup; the team made significant strides in the primary matches of the competition, impressing top-tier talent along the way.
DPS
Vancouver’s new DPS lineup includes Second Wind’s Dalton “Dalton” Bennyhoff, a hitscan player who was formerly a part of Gladiators Legion and Toronto Esports. The flex DPS position will be filled by Samir “Tsuna” Ikram, a French player who is currently a part of Disaster in Overwatch Contenders Europe. Tsuna also played for the Paris Eternal’s academy team, Eternal Academy, before the players were released last month.
Three players from Second Wind’s latest roster, main support Benjamin “UltraViolet” David, Zachary “iced” Hughes, and DPS Nicholas “Speedily” Zou, are under the age of 18 and cannot participate in the Overwatch League. Another member of Second Wind, off-tank Colin “Higan” Arai, was reportedly set to join his teammates on the Titans but was denied a contract due to a history of toxicity within the scene.
The new Vancouver Titans squad will have little time to prepare as a team, but at least a team will be present for their next match. They face off against the Washington Justice at 4pm CT on May 9.
