Another OWL OG takes his bow as Danteh announced his retirement from Overwatch League amid a lackluster season at main tank.
Cut from the Los Angeles Gladiators days ago, former Houston Outlaws standout Dante "Danteh" Cruz will retire from Overwatch League play. In his goodbye missive posted to social media today, Cruz gives league and team stinginess as the reason for not finishing the season.
"I wish I was able to stay the season with Glads, but unfortunately, with the state of the league, teams are trying to save money and players are getting punished for it." Danteh also cites the difficulties of swapping roles from DPS to tank, saying he was "constantly playing catch-up."
Danteh in Overwatch League: A two-role world
Despite being a standout at the DPS role--specifically Tracer, Danteh found himself in a tough position at the onset of Overwatch 2. A new meta on the horizon and shifts coming to the Overwatch League, Danteh was asked by the Houston Outlaws during the 2022 season to swap to main tank. At the time this meant only two Heroes: Doomfist and the newly released Junker Queen. However, as the league's meta normalized Danteh struggled to stay relevant.
Unable to make the swap to Winston and match other top tanks in the Overwatch League, Danteh found himself struggling to adapt. As he states in his goodbye, "It was really stressful needing to play Winston at the level of players like Smurf, Fearless, Someone, etc." Even as he says he felt responsible for key losses for both the Outlaws and Gladiators, it's hard to dispute the point.
The NA legacy
That said, Danteh leaves a legacy in the Overwatch League as a standout North American DPS star. He played for three seperate teams since the OWL's inaugural season. Danteh was a constant fan favorite on the arguable most-popular NA team.
Using his last moment in the sun, Danteh spoke about the crumbling state of the Overwatch League. "As someone who has been in the League since Season One, the state of the league was really demotiving." He also speaks to the lack of LAN events, along with the "declining state of the league."
"With declining player salaries and a lack of job security, I realized that there isn't much to look forward to if I continue my pro career," he said. It's hard to disagree with the sentiments. Maybe Dante Cruz merely sees the obvious writing on the wall. And maybe, not being 'Danteh' is what's best for him going forward.
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