Facts indicate the disbandment of Chengdu Hunters

The schedule for the upcoming Overwatch League season does not feature the Chinese team Chengdu Hunters, leading fans to speculate as to why that happened and how the team will fare now.

Some people in the community are wondering whether the team is still around.

Chaos in China since NetEase scandal

Things have been looking bleak in China since the separation of Activision Blizzard and NetEase. As soon as the news broke that the contract between the two would not be renewed, many fans knew that there would be problems in the Chinese market and teams in the future, as many well-known games, including Overwatch, are in China now unplayable.

Of course, this also puts the Chinese teams under pressure, because without playing a game and training regularly, the workplace is on shaky ground. With the rumors about the Chengdu Hunters’ disbandment, it seems that the first team might have already been hit. And the fact that the team is no longer listed on the schedule for the start of Season 2023, set for next week, only supports this theory. 

Are Chengdu Hunters still there?

Another hint that indicated the possible disbandment of Chengdu Hunters was the speculation behind the farewell picture posted by the org on January 23. Many fans thought it could be the end of the team, but the organization acknowledged that it was an image for the end of Overwatch. Nevertheless, the rumor mill continued to churn and many people continued to believe that the line-up was about to disband.

Lastly, Hunters were the only Chinese OWL  org that did not announce a line-up after the free agency deadline.

Meanwhile, there is an official statement from the Overwatch League that was recently posted:

“Ahead of our season start, we wanted to share with the community that the Chengdu Hunters are not included in today’s schedule announcement, as they continue to contemplate the future direction of their team. We will update the community further when we have more information to share.”

While the statement itself doesn’t say the team will disband, it does indicate that they are in an uncertain place and the future is uncertain. There is still the possibility that the line-up will only be restructured, or that the organization is still working on finding a solution for the circumstances in China.

At the moment the team is down to four players as both Xin “leave” Huang and Xiang “Mmonk” Xhou left the team a few weeks ago. How things will continue for the players and the organization is still unclear.

Header: Chengdu Hunters