Team Liquid withdraws from Overwatch scene despite Blizzard promises

It looks like another major esports organization will drop its Overwatch team, according to a new report. That team is non other than Team Liquid.

Team Liquid said it’s not interested in participating in Blizzard’s upcoming Overwatch League and will disband its Overwatch roster in a few weeks, according to the report. The organization is also looking to sell its Overwatch Contenders slot, which is Blizzard’s secondary Overwatch tournament series that starts Aug. 14.

Not all players will leave Team Liquid, however. Shane “rapha” Hendrixson, Tim “DaHanG” Fogarty, and Andrew “id_” Trulli will compete in Quake Champions at QuakeCon from Aug. 24 to 27. The rest of the team, including Robert “shadder2k” Mocanu, Adam “MESR” De La Torre, and coach Dennis “INTERNETHULK” Hawelka, will search elsewhere for Overwatch involvement.

Organizations quitting Overwatch is not a new trend. For the past few months, multiple teams have lost interest in fielding professional Overwatch rosters for various reasons. Most teams simply can’t afford the $20 million buy-in price for the Overwatch League, while others don’t see investment potential in the game.

In a connected news, Finnish hockey organization IFK Helsinki has dropped three of its Overwatch players, Roope “Ruape” Kurkela, Ville “prettyWise” Mikkonen, and Miika “BBR” Tekoniemi. Helsinki Reds aren’t out of Overwatch entirely, though: It still will operate with Jani “Exceed” Kosonen, Eemeli “Woomera” Ikonen, and Kaapo “Kryma” Laine.

“Our Overwatch team has not made significant progress during the past month and results have not been what we aim for,” Helsinki Reds team manager Christer Kasurinen said in a statement. “For this reason, we have decided to part ways with three players.”