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The Guangzhou Charge have added three players to their roster for the upcoming Overwatch League season, the organization announced today. Former Philadelphia Fusion support player Alberto “neptuNo” González, Korean off-tank prodigy Nam “Cr0ng” Ki-cheol, and Qi “Wya” Haomiao, a young Chinese player from their academy squad, have signed with Guangzhou.
Charge fans are likely excited to see a player with neptuNo’s experience and leadership join their backline for the 2020 Overwatch League season. It’s unclear, however, if he’ll replace the current starting main support on the team, Kim “Chara” Jung-yeon, who recently re-signed with Guangzhou.
The signing of O2 Blast off-tank Cr0ng, on the other hand, is an interesting move. He’s been linked to several OWL teams in the past, including the Florida Mayhem, and it seemed inevitable that he’d make the leap to the big stage for next year.
During the Contenders Gauntlet this year, two Korean teams made it toward the top of the pile. But RunAway and Element Mystic struggled all year against Cr0ng’s O2 Blast team that was so dominant for most of the year through many metas. With the recent departure of flex player Choi “Hotba” Hong-joon, Cr0ng should slot nicely into the Charge’s starting lineup.
Wya, a former off-tank player who’s now focusing on the flex support role, was the final player announced today. Most recently, he was featured on the Charge’s academy team, T1W.GZA, a top-three squad in the Chinese Contenders scene. Wya is a popular player in the Chinese scene and should help tie Guangzhou to their local fan base heading into the home and away schedule next year. But it’s unclear how the team will manage their roster since they’ve further muddled their communication line—the Charge will have to translate between Korean, Chinese, and English.
Every Overwatch League team must present a roster of eight players by Nov. 15, and with these signings, the Charge now have a nine-man lineup. So this might be Guangzhou’s final roster announcement during the offseason before the OWL returns in early 2020.
