OWL champions Dallas Fuel will allow entire roster to test free agency.
While the Overwatch League offseason has only just begun it appears the 2022 OWL champion Dallas Fuel and its future roster plans are already in motion. In an announcement on social media by Co-Owner and Chief Gaming Officer of OpTic Texas Mike "hastr0" Rufail, the entire 2022 Dallas Fuel roster is being given unrestricted free agency for 2023.
Rufail explained the move in a series of tweets, as well as an audio message on Twitter.
Hey everyone, I just put out a few tweets a moment ago about the Dallas Fuel roster, and so I just wanted to provide a little bit more clarity. After the World Championship win a week ago, effectively a few of our players became unrestricted free agents. And while we recognize that the team is such a unit, we decided to let all players--even the players we had options for their contract in 2023 on--we decided to let all of them go into unrestricted free agency… In case the team, you know, really wanted to stay together. While we, of course, would love to bring the team back to Dallas we also recognize that, uh, because of the caliber of the team, the opportunities that they might all have individually could be greater.
And so, uh, with that said, we of course will attempt to put together the best roster again for 2023, and we hope that that roster includes many of the players we have now. I just wanted to clarify that: That, you know, we're not just abandoning the team, we're gonna attempt to re-sign, you know, some if not all the team for next season and put together the best Dallas Fuel roster we can. And so, I just wanted to provide that clarity to you all, let you all know that, uh, negotiations will be ongoing with the players and our staff, and we hope to bring you another world title next year.
So, just wanted to give you guys that clarity. Uh… the players are able to talk with all organizations and, uh, that includes ourselves. So, hope to see another world championship home in Dallas next year. Thanks.
Roster and player changes are a constant in OWL, often leaving fans confused and asking questions. Overwatch League broadcast analyst AVRL provided his own opinion yesterday on the never-ending chain of moves that come in the offseason, coming off a flurry of moves by other teams.
While hastr0 does mention that the team will attempt to salvage as much of its championship roster as possible, the move could be a boon for the rest of the league. Given that a number of teams such as Atlanta and Philadelphia have parted ways with large chunks of their rosters, the Dallas players now in the free agency pool could serve as new cornerstones for teams looking to rebuild for 2023.
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