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Lee “Happy” Jung-woo and Kim “vigilante” Jim are the Washington Justice’s latest players to be taken off the organization’s Overwatch roster. The organization has been making moves to release a number of their pro gamers this season, and the two players were taken off ahead of the Overwatch League trade deadline.
As a result of the move, Happy is currently with the Los Angeles Gladiators, while the Atlanta Reign signed on vigilante. At the moment, the Justice has five players still on their lineup, which is one less than the minimum amount of players OWL mandated per squad.
In compliance with the Overwatch League requirement of six players per squad, the team will bring in a staff member as a substitute for the last slot. The current players on the roster include Gui-un “Decay” Jang and Kim “Assassin” Sung-won, both of whom are DPS players; Shin “Kalios” Woo-yeol, the tank player; and lastly, the support players, An “OPENER” Gi-beom and Jung “Krillin” Yung-hoon.
The team previously organized Kim “Mag” Tae-sung’s move to Boston Uprising. The player started playing professionally with the Washington Justice during the 2020 season after being signed during the off-season. He was the main rank in the 2021 season and was included in their 2022 season switch to Overwatch 2. Mag was the first to be taken off the team.
Justice also notably dropped Jung “Tydolla” Seung-min, the former assistant team coach who became a part of the team late last year. His previous teams before joining the Justice were the Los Angeles Gladiators and Guangzhou Charge.
Shortly after announcing that Tydolla was no longer a part of the team, Aaron “PRE” Heckman, the general manager of The Justice, posted a sober message on his Twitter account, thanking fans for their understanding during the organization’s tough time, and then abruptly deleted his account.
The post read, “Thank you to everyone who understands that the situation we are in is awful and that we’re doing everything we can to give people a shot at success.”
The general manager was possibly talking about the team’s efforts to give players new homes before the Overwatch League trade deadline. Players who were under the league’s contract were not allowed to join another team after the date but could join new squads if they were released before the deadline.
PRE did not reveal whether he was still a part of the team. However, fans noticed that he took down every mention of his association with the Washington Justice on August 14.
The team’s recent changes are reportedly a result of their attempt to reduce their competitive cost. The Overwatch League teams’ representatives were in a meeting with Bobby Kotick, the CEO of Activision. The meeting reportedly led to the loss of confidence in the finances of OWL, and the involved teams made moves to cut costs.
As a result of this, the Washington Justice will have to compete in the Overwatch League competitive season with only five players active on their roster. The Countdown Cup is set to take place in October, and the playoffs are the only two tournaments left in the OWL competitive season.
The franchise will be taking on the Florida Mayhem in their next fixture in the Overwatch League 2022 – Summer Showdown Qualifiers. The betting odds for the game are unavailable on esports betting sites, but will be updated as the game draws closer.
