The Vancouver Titans had one of the best seasons in Overwatch League history in 2019. They started off their season with 19 straight victories – a league record – and went on to the best overall record at 25-3.
Despite all that, the Vancouver Titans fell short to the San Francisco Shock in the Grand Finals and their unstoppable season came to a screeching halt. Flash forward and the Vancouver Titans aren’t the same team they were last season. It’s pretty obvious and rumors of unrest within the team and organization paints a possible solemn picture for Vancouver’s season.
The first real (and perhaps obvious) warning was the Titans’ decision to part ways with Sang-beom “Bumper” Park, the charismatic main-tank with a signature uber-aggressive playstyle. Vancouver’s entire team was built around it, dating back to their RunAway days in APEX/Overwatch Contenders. Despite that style not being the most conducive to outrageous success, the Titans made it work through unmatched team synergy that might never be emulated in the Overwatch League again. It was that good – a hive mind incarnate. Releasing Bumper insured that synergy would be impossible to replicate… ever again.
Now it’s week 12 of the 2020 season, the Vancouver Titans picked up team destroyer Chan-hyung “Fissure” Baek as Bumper’s replacement and a possible past-his-prime icon in Jehong “ryujehong” Ryu which seemed little more than a PR move despite seeing a surprising amount of playtime already. They are only 2-2 with their past two games after relocating back to South Korea being abysmal, truly pitiful outings. There could have been a number of factors involved in the poor 0-2 weekend the Titans put up after anticipation of them playing once more. Throw in their outright superstar damage dealer Hyojong “Haksal” Kim’s absence in those two matches and things are no longer clear for a Titans team that never seemed to miss a beat before.
Of course, the Titans could always bounce back and salvage their season. They are that talented, but rumors of player unrest based on organizational decisions don’t bode well for a Titans team hoping to erase the bitter taste of defeat at the hands of the Shock last season. Only time will tell what comes of the Titans in 2020 and beyond. For now, let’s sit back and hope for the best.
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