Rest in peace, Lunatic-Hai: the legendary Yang ‘Tobi’ Jin-Mo has officially been released from the Seoul Dynasty after playing with the team (absurdly well, it should be noted) since the inaugural season.
It’s the latest in a long string of the current offseason for the Overwatch League that sees teams woefully underequipped to deal with rosters and trades as the most recent season of the League was cast into turmoil thanks in large part to the pandemic.
[ Farewell, @ow_yangtobi ]#SeoulDynasty #TigerNation pic.twitter.com/z7dxdmVezQ
— Seoul Dynasty 🐯 (@SeoulDynasty) November 27, 2020
Blizzard reportedly cancelled team fees, but it doesn’t seem that it’s near enough: stars are being dropped from rosters at an unprecedented speed considering the size of the league. No other team-based esport league has dropped players at this speed that we can readily find.
From New York Excelsior dropping their IGL ‘SBB’ to the London Spitfire shifting from a South Korean team to rumors of a western team taking the place, the offseason that is known as OWL’s Thanos Snap is continuing to take names and numbers; literally.
It is what tobi deserves. He is a legend. pic.twitter.com/hHNqw3i7VZ
— daebakowl (@daebakowl) November 27, 2020
Seoul announced in their team Discord server that Tobi’s number 4 will not be worn by any other players on the team as a testament to how vital the young South Korean player was for the only team to actually represent out of South Korea.
In a league that is arguably South Korean led, there is only one South Korean team, and they’ve failed to bring home a single championship thanks in large part to the San Francisco Shock‘s eminent and neverending run; perhaps, with this in mind, some more notable shake-ups were bound to happen for the Seoul team, but it doesn’t make it hurt any less.
If you’re a big fan of the support main, you shouldn’t despair: he isn’t yet leaving the League behind him for good. He’s currently, like every other legend of the sport, eagerly looking for a team to play with (and has been since October 21, 2020).
Thank you all for supporting Seoul Dynasty tobi.
I haven't found a team yet, but I'll promise to return as a pro-player.
And it seems like COVID is getting worse, everyone please take care.
While I'm resting, I'll stream more frequently. So see you all then.— tobi (@ow_yangtobi) November 27, 2020
The twenty-six-year-old player has already completed his mandatory military service and states that he ‘promises’ to return to pro play in the very near future.
Some are noting that the announcement is frankly coming late in the off-season which could very well dampen the possibility of him finding another Overwatch League team: the Paris Eternal have already held try-outs (and is presumed to be done vetting players), although there are still five months before the League takes a delayed-start in April.
There’s a chance, and sometimes that’s all you really need.
