Some truly sad news came from the world of competitive Overwatch yesterday as Team Envy, one of the biggest names in esports and the organization behind the Dallas Fuel, announced the release of their entire Overwatch Contenders roster. This is just the latest bad news coming from North America Contenders as players and academy teams have been pulling out like crazy lately.
Team Envy has a long history in competitive Overwatch. Dating back to 2016 when the game was gaining traction as an esport, Team Envy became one of its pioneers. They took the 2016 APEX Season 1 championship – the premiere Overwatch competition before the Overwatch League even began. Team Envy picked up a spot in the upcoming league, becoming the Dallas Fuel and bringing over some of the most iconic names in Overwatch history in the process.
Fast forward a couple of years. The Dallas Fuel have struggled consistently throughout their time in the Overwatch League, but the most heartbreaking news is Team Envy releasing their entire Contenders roster. As the tier two scene (at least in North America) seems to be past saving, only Boston Uprising’s academy team remains. This whole situation has brewing for the past while as many cite Blizzard’s lack of support for the tier two scene the reason it’s dying. Tier two is important for the continued growth of the entire competitive scene and the more it falls apart, the more it will affect the Overwatch League in the process.
It isn’t clear if Team Envy will field another Contenders roster in the future. They have a lot of money tied up their esports franchises with the Dallas Fuel and Call of Duty League’s Dallas Empire and it most likely isn’t financially viable to continue operations in Overwatch Contenders. We’ve all said it before, but now it becomes even more urgent, something needs to change. The only question, is what?
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