OWL: LIP Transferred to Atlanta Reign
| Tags: Overwatch
| Author Joseph Shay
Another Eastern player comes to the Western Division to join the Atlanta Reign.
Jae-won “LIP” Lee rounds out a possible DPS duo for the 2023 Atlanta Reign alongside former Seoul Dynasty DPS player Hak-yong “Stalk3r” Jeong.
2023 Atlanta Reign LIP
Today we are extremely thankful to be announcing another 2023 roster addition. Please give a warm welcome to @socutelip, the newest member of Atlanta Reign.
Welcome to the team, Lip!#ReignSupreme pic.twitter.com/na5ndH1NK6
— Atlanta Reign (@ATLReign) November 25, 2022
After the transfer of Stalk3r to the Atlanta Reign from the Seoul Dynasty, fans had a few questions. Who will the other DPS player be? Are the Reign aiming to build a Korean centric roster? Based on this acquisition, it seems the Reign are going to be a majority Korean roster. The DPS line comprised of one of 2022’s most talented DPS rookies and the 2020 Grand Final’s MVP is going to be extremely impactful in the Western Division. Atlanta is putting there best foot forward this season, investing in proven talented players rather than a mixed roster with potential.
Fans were reasonably sad to say fan favorites like Kai “Kai” Collins and Charlie “nero” Zwarg leave Atlanta. After seeing two Eastern beasts step in to fill their rolls, it’s hard to stay sad for long. LIP’s former DPS duo Byungsun “Fleta” Kim has a similar hero pool to Stalk3r, so it’ll only be play-style that the two will need to work on to synchronize. Each of them being talented on their own leaves plenty of time to accomplish some simple team tasks before the season begins to get them on the same page.
2022 Shanghai Dragons LIP
The Shanghai Dragons have now released their entire 2022 roster. DPS legend LIP leaving the team as well to join Atlanta leaves them completely empty, meaning anything could happen from this point. Forget their last two years of dominance over the majority of the league. They’re resetting entirely, which could mean anything from another winless season, to another championship. LIP was the kind of player you rely on to carry an entire team fight, and luckily for the Dragons they were the kind of team that never needed a full carry. Letting him go last just gets rid of the last piece of hope for the Dragons to still have that All-Star performance that always gives them a win condition.
Joseph is Production Director and Writer with experience in the esports field. He has coached Overwatch teams in North American and Pacific Contenders, and has been an avid esports fan for years now. Outside of esports and media, he is a Creative Writing major based out of Virginia, USA.