Stage two is about to start in the second season of the Overwatch League, but some teams are making changes. Besides relatively quiet coaching changes, there wasn’t too much to talk about. But that changed today, with our second ever player swap deal. The Dallas Fuel have traded away off-tank player Richard “rCk” Kanerva for another off-tank, Lucas “NotE” Meissner from the Boston Uprising.
Excited to announce that @rCk_ow has joined #BostonUp!
🔗: https://t.co/Mu5Yp1BdQP pic.twitter.com/8s9uJdyMX7
— Boston Uprising (@BostonUprising) April 2, 2019
An unexpected trade
This was a big surprise for fans of both teams, as both of these players were doing well for stage one of this season. In particular, the surprise in this trade is rCk, as he just recently joined the Fuel before the second Overwatch League season began. Even then, he improved each match and helped the Fuel to their map victories in stage one. Similarly, in the Uprising’s case, NotE continued his great form from season one despite the main tank role changing frequently. With Cameron “Fusions” Bosworth becoming solidified as their main tank, communication didn’t seem to be an issue in their tank duo.
Please welcome our new Flex Tank – NotE!
He joins us from the @BostonUprising in a trade for @rCk_ow. Both players will be eligible to in Stage 2.
Be sure to give @NotEvenBleu a follow, and good luck to rCk on Boston! pic.twitter.com/FvFtuRsyYB
— Dallas Fuel (@DallasFuel) April 2, 2019
But, we truly don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes with these teams. One thing that Dallas is doing is making the tanks more communicative, as NotE has experience working with Korean teammates. And while rCk played well, coming in straight from Contenders means communicating with Korean teammates must’ve been hard.
As a side note, a coach of the Fuel (Justin “Jayne” Conroy) was the head coach of Canada. NotE was a mainstay on Team Canada’s roster, and Jayne must be excited to work with him again. However, rCk has been flexible this season so far, and might prove to be better in the long run.
Neither team is getting the better player for sure, so we’ll have to see which one has a better impact. Both of these players are eligible for their new teams in stage two.
