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The Los Angeles Gladiators dropped DPS Lee “ANS” Seon-chang ahead of the team’s participation in the 2022 Overwatch League season. The franchise is currently on their last stretch in the event and revealed that the player would no longer be a part of their roster.
In the announcement on Twitter, the LA Gladiators revealed that the decision to part ways was mutual and thanked the player for his contributions to the team this season.
ANS joined the squad’s lineup towards the end of 2021. The player started playing in the Overwatch League before the 2021 season began when the San Francisco Shock signed him. At the time, ANS was an uncertain pick for the team because while he was popular in the streaming community, he was mainly not known in the world of esports.
The sniper soon made himself an important part of the team in their pursuit of victory due to his unnerving and consistent ability to hit headshots during games. With ANS’ help, the San Francisco Shock were able to take home the trophy for the 2020 Overwatch League Championship.
While in the team, the player earned the reputation as the squad’s deadliest player due to his prowess while playing hitscan heroes like Widowmaker and Ashe. ANS eventually moved on from the professional Overwatch scene in 2021 and tried his hand at Valorant.
When he announced his retirement from the Overwatch League, ANS disclosed that he wanted to take some time off for his health condition. Prior to that, the player often talked about his struggles with his mental health as well as the continuous effect of the league on him physically.
After moving to Valorant, ANS was signed on to T1 Valorant and played in the team’s academy team. However, in the middle of the 2021 season, the DPS returned to play for the San Francisco Shock once again and took up the spot of Kwon “Striker” Nam-joo, who had retired earlier.
The LA Gladiators came into the scene not long after and signed ANS to their roster before the start of the 2022 season. As a result of his reputation as an ace-level sniper and his move from one California organization to another, the signing was one of the most high-profile events in the Overwatch League.
ANS was a regular sight in the team’s lineup during matches for most of the year. However, at a point, metas began moving away from the player’s most used heroes.
The Los Angeles Gladiators signed on hitscan Lee “Happy” Jung-woo in August, who ended up taking ANS spot. The player was previously a part of the Washington Justice, and due to the notable overlap between the player’s hero pools, ANS would likely not have gotten any playing time for the remainder of the 2022 season.
Although they won two tournaments in the Overwatch League this year, the Los Angeles Gladiators could not win the Summer Showdown. The loss was reportedly the team’s inability to adjust their gameplay to the recent metas.
The tournament is set to resume on September 22, and the team is currently striving to reach a first-place seed during the postseason.
