With the Overwatch League set to begin its preseason tomorrow, you might think the teams participating would have the logistics ironed out and would be ready to play. But that’s not the case, as the Philadelphia Fusion have pulled out of preseason play, citing “player logistics issues.”
For more details on what to expect, check out our guide to the Overwatch League.
“Due to player logistics issues the Fusion will be absent from OWL preseason matches,” the team announced on Twitter. “Preparations for the regular season remain on track, as our players and coaches from 10 nations continue to scrimmage and work hard. 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.”
The Fusion were scheduled to take on the Florida Mayhem in the preseason opener tomorrow evening, but they will be replaced by the San Francisco Shock. The Shock are still scheduled for their regular match against the Los Angeles Valiant just two hours later. Replacements for further matches that would’ve featured the Philly team will be announced over the course of the preseason, which runs through December 9.
A Fusion representative tells Kotaku’s Compete that the team’s absence has nothing to do with last week’s suspension of Su-Min “Sado” Kim. The League suspended Sado for participating in paid account boosting, and was subsequently suspended from preseason play and the first 30 matches of the regular season.