The Philadelphia Fusion Overwatch team will unfortunately miss their debut at the Overwatch League this December over “player logistics issues.” The announced the news via Twitter in a two-part Tweet detailing their issues.
(2/2) We apologize to our fans in Philadelphia & around the world who were looking forward to our preseason competition. Please stay tuned for news surrounding opportunities to connect with our team and win Fusion gear in advance of our season opener on January 11th.
— Philadelphia Fusion (@PHL_Fusion) December 5, 2017
The team were set to join the 11 other Overwatch League teams to kick off the preseason with a number of exhibition matches ahead of the January launch. No further detail was offered as to what they meant by this, but a safe assumption could be player availability or, worst case scenario, Visa issues.
“Preparations for the regular season remain on track, as our players and coaches from 10 nations continue to scrimmage and work hard,” Fusion said on Twitter. “We apologize to our fans in Philadelphia and around the world who were looking forward to our preseason competition.”
Philadelphia Fusion were set to play their first match tomorrow against the Florida Mayhem, which would be the kickstart of the preseason and be our first showcase of what the teams in the OWL have to offer. Blizzard responded to the unfortunate news stating that Florida Mayhem will instead take on San Francisco Shock.
“Replacement teams for subsequent preseason matches which may have featured the Philadelphia Fusion will be announced during the tournament,” Blizzard said in their statement.
Considering that most teams are mixed with players from all around the world, and based in various regions, it’s no surprise teams may face “logistical problems” when attending the league. Hopefully these issues are resolved soon before any more teams or matches are affected.
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Last Updated: December 5, 2017