OWL’s Philadelphia Fusion rebrands to Seoul Infernal among move to South Korea

According to the team’s official press release, the Philadelphia Fusion of the Overwatch League has decided to rebrand for the 2023 season. The statement noted that they will now play under the Seoul Infernal banner, making their jump to South Korea official.

The team’s owners, Comcast Spectacor, said their organization would immediately relocate to Seoul. This will bring the former Philadelphia Fusion team closer to its “sister organization,” T1, as Comcast Spectacor also operates in a joint venture with SK Telecom.

Seoul Infernal to maintain the Philadelphia Fusion lineup

According to the organization’s press release, Seoul Infernal will hold the following:

“Ownership, management, and the Philadelphia Fusion’s roster of signed players.”

In addition, the team promises to sign new players to round out the team for the 2023 Overwatch League season.

Dave Scott, President and CEO of Comcast Spectacor noted that:

“As we prepare for the upcoming season, we have been evaluating how we can best compete at a consistent championship level and have realized that our franchise will be best positioned to succeed in Seoul.”

Likewise, the organization said they would soon unveil their new logos, jerseys, and much more.

About Philadelphia Fusion

Recall that Philadelphia Fusion had been operating out of South Korea since early 2020, following the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

For several seasons, this team was made up of a mix of players of different nationalities, but during the 2022 season, it was the first time we saw them compete with a roster entirely made up of Korean players.

Similarly, it is worth noting that Lee “Carpe” Jae-hyeok, one of the team’s stars, decided to retire from the professional Overwatch scene after the end of the 2022 season. This is because he has decided to look for alternatives as a professional in VALORANT.

Teams sharing cities

Now, with the newly christened Seoul Infernal team, formerly Philadelphia Fusion, they will join Seoul Dynasty with bases in the South Korean capital.

This marks that, like Los Angeles, Seoul will have two teams competing in the same city. However, in 2021, the LA Valiant team decided to base its operations on the East, and its lineups consisted of Chinese and Korean players.

But the fact that Seoul Infernal is making this big jump does not mean they will be the first team to do so before the 2023 Overwatch League season. Paris Eternal announced that they planned to move to Las Vegas to play the sixth season of the OWL.

Dave Scott also added:

“We are excited to start this new chapter as Seoul Infernal, and our team is proud to represent our current and future fans on the world stage.”

Header: Blizzard