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The London Spitfire recently added Emir “Kaan” Okumus to its already completed roster in preparation for the 2022 Overwatch League Season. Earlier, the team announced that it had concluded its lineup moves for the anticipated tournament. However, the new addition seemed too good an opportunity to ignore.
Kaan’s introduction to the team will enable some of the London Spitfire’s older players to cut back on taking on multiple roles. The team’s flex DPS, Jamie “Backbone” O’Neil, previously had to take up the extra responsibility of the squad’s flex support occasionally.
While the player is efficient in both roles, having Kaan relieve him would enable him to put more effort into dealing damage in his usual role. The team’s previous flex support was Owen “Prov1de” Warner. However, the player was let go in April after participating in an act that breached the organization’s code of conduct.
The player was previously known as Slur and, in 2019, was a well-known name in the European Overwatch Contenders scene. After being a part of the Los Angeles Valiant team before the 2020 season, Prov1de was dropped after a controversial issue.
He retired from professional play in August of that year, but returned earlier this year after being cleared to be a part of the Contenders Circuit. The London Spitfire parted ways with the player barely a month before the Overwatch League season started and revealed the decision was reached mutually.
Kaan previously played with the Paris Eternal as the team’s flex support. However, his move to the London Spitfire would be effective for the rest of the season. The Paris Eternal released four of its players earlier this week, barely a day after the conclusion of the first weekend of the Summer Showdown qualifier matches.
The players dropped included Kaan, Daniël “Daan” Scheltema, the team’s main tank, and the support players, Emir “Kaan” Okumus and Arthur “dridro” Szanto. Only the DPS duo of Jesse “Dove” Palermo and Cameron “wub” Johnson were left after the drop.
The players were released in the middle of the OWL season, and several new players from Odyssey, the North American Overwatch Contenders team, were signed to the Paris Eternal. The new players include Domenic “Krawi” Akrawi, Josh “MaltheL” Gonzales, Luke “Lukemino” Fish, and Kyle “Rakattack” Rakauskas.
OWL players who were not on active contracts with Overwatch League teams were reportedly free to be signed on by other organizations in the league. The London Spitfire’s general manager, Ysabel “Noukky” Müller, revealed that soon the team’s newest player, Kaan, would physically be a part of the training held in the franchise’s Los Angeles facility.
While in Paris Eternal, the flex support did not particularly show impressive gameplay. However, he was an integral part of the organization in the 2021 season during their continuous improvement.
Despite this, the team will carry a 1-13 record into the upcoming games this weekend. Shortly before taking off its previous players, the Paris Eternals recorded an additional loss at the hands of the Vancouver Titans.
The London Spitfire will face off with the Houston Outlaws in its next outing in the Overwatch League 2022 – Summer Showdown Qualifiers. The game will be played later today, with Spitfire as the underdog with odds of $3.08 at GG.BET and the Outlaws as the favorite with odds of $1.35.
