The Toronto Defiant finally signed American flex DPS Luka “Aspire” Rolovic to an official regular contract. After coming onto the roster in May of 2021 as an emergency substitute, his great play both individually and with the all-Korean Defiant roster spoke for itself. He earned his place in the Overwatch League, and the Defiant decided to pick him up long-term to help their depth.
It's official 📝 Join us in welcoming @Aspire_OW to our DPS line up – we're so excited for you to officially join the Defiant family 🖤 #RiseTogether #OWL2021 pic.twitter.com/3nyegURGj2
— Toronto Defiant (@TorontoDefiant) August 6, 2021
Aspire’s path to an official contract
The Defiant’s flexibility has benefitted from adding Aspire to their roster. Originally, the duo that started almost every map had been Jeong “Heesu” Hee-su and Lee “Na1st” Ho-sung. The pair’s flexibility and coordination led the team to some wins in the May Melee. However, as the season went on, the Defiant couldn’t beat the top opposition on a regular basis. They were as their match score said: a middle-of-the-pack team.
Matters were only made worse when a COVID-19 outbreak hit the team, leaving some players unable to play. Originally, Toronto tweeted out that three members in their organization had come up positive of COVID-19. This included Andreas “Logix” Berghmans, who had gone the hospital for this issue.
— Toronto Defiant (@TorontoDefiant) May 26, 2021
After that, the team knew they needed more DPS depth for the near future. This came with the signing of Aspire, and his debut match was against the San Francisco Shock. He specifically popped off in the second map of Junkertown. On Widowmaker, he made many insane plays to keep the Defiant in a good position, leading them to a map win. They lost the series 3-1, but Aspire’s contract was extended another month.
The Defiant adds DPS depth
Now that Logix is scrimmaging with the team again, Aspire may have usurped him in the lineup. His flexibility knows no bounds, and that showed at the start of the Defiant’s Summer Showdown. In their first match against the Florida Mayhem, their enemy was heavily favored to win. Yet, with both Heesu and Aspire in the lineup, the team won with a close game going to a Map 5. There, Aspire clutched it out on many different heroes and won his team the game.
At the Summer Showdown, the Defiant faced some tougher opposition. They had two wins and two losses, and didn’t make it to the knockout stages. Now, their Countdown Cup will have the same four DPS depth as they had in the Summer Showdown. It’s on the Defiant to adapt and use Aspire’s flexibility to make it to the knockouts again.
