Expect Overwatch League Player Suspensions Soon

According to Yiska, an Overwatch writer, we can soon expect a ‘sizable amount of suspension'. News of possible Overwatch League suspensions can be seen in his tweet down below.

There's still some pain to go through before the season starts. Expect a sizeable amount of suspensions.

— Yiska (@YiskaOut) December 15, 2018

Yiska is on to something. Before any player is officially signed to the OWL, teams must submit the players they offered a contract to for Blizzard to review. Usually, this is a quick process, but if Blizzard comes across potential issues, this can become an ordeal. If Blizzard finds for example that the Overwatch League player has been boosting, they can still be approved but will have to face suspensions and or fines. During Season 1 we saw a couple of suspensions. The Dallas Fuel's OGE  was suspended 4 games for boosting. Sado of the Philadelphia Fusion was suspended 30 games for the same crime.

Blizzard's Official Statement: “Overwatch League players are expected to uphold the highest standards of our game, and to be exemplary citizens of our player community. Participating in “account-boosting” schemes, wherein an individual is paid to increase another user’s Skill Rating, is contrary to these values, and violates the Blizzard End User License Agreement. As such, the Overwatch League has chosen to suspend Su-Min “Sado” Kim, of the Philadelphia Fusion, for the preseason and the first 30 matches of the inaugural season.”

There have been many accusations regarding Overwatch League players who were signed to teams this off-season. One, for example, is happy who’s been signed to the Hangzhou Spark. Another is FunnyAstro who was terminated by the Boston Uprising after OWL found out he had boosted. Boston decided to drop FunnyAstro's contract and sign a new main support.

Boosting is most prevalent among players in the tier 2 scene and lower. One reason is that players do not have time to play full-time and maintain a job.

We will have to wait and see which players get suspended going into next season.

*December 21st update: 6 players have been suspended by the Overwatch League.

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