One North American powerhouse won’t be playing stateside during the Overwatch League’s 2021 season.
The Philadelphia Fusion announced today the team’s operations will be temporarily moved to Seoul due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. As a result, the Fusion will play against Asia-Pacific (APAC) teams next year.
The Philadelphia Fusion is the first North American team to relocate to South Korea ahead of the 2021 Overwatch League season. While multiple players on the Fusion roster hail from Korea, most of the team’s players and management staff are from Western countries. Philadelphia’s Overwatch Contenders academy team, T1, is already located in South Korea.
“Health and safety remains our top priority in making this transition,” the Fusion said in a message on Twitter. As a part of the APAC division, Philadelphia will be competing against teams like the Shanghai Dragons and the Hangzhou Spark.
During the 2020 season, multiple teams with a majority of South Korean players relocated to Seoul and its surrounding municipalities during the COVID-19 crisis. The New York Excelsior and London Spitfire relocated to South Korea in March 2020 and joined the APAC division. Multiple Chinese teams, including the Guangzhou Charge, also relocated to Korea in 2020.
This move would make the Philadelphia Fusion the first North American team with Western players to relocate to South Korea. The team has not yet commented on any potential visa issues, which plagued multiple Overwatch League players during the 2020 season.
