After being recently released in the Overwatch League, this player found a new team quick. The Houston Outlaws have signed American DPS player Kyle “KSF” Frandanisa, formerly of the Los Angeles Valiant. After a standout season last year, KSF is hoping to prove himself a great player on a new roster. While he has been in the league since the inaugural season, this next one will be the true test of his abilities. Having to work on a mixed roster once again will prove to be a challenge, but with his experience, the signing makes sense.
From the west side to the dirty south.
We're happy to announce that @KSF will be with us for the 2021 season! #AnteUp*Pending League Approval pic.twitter.com/5hC8vTf1Hr
— Houston Outlaws (@Outlaws) December 7, 2020
KSF’s path to the Outlaws
Looking at his past, KSF has spent a lot of his career playing competitively. Since early 2017, he’s been competing in Overwatch tournaments for teams such as EnVision esports and Simplicity. However, partway through the inaugural season, the Los Angeles Valiant picked him up as depth for DPS. As a flexible hitscan player, he was relegated to the bench for almost all of the first season. In the second season, he did get more playing time off the bench, but wasn’t starting material due to the GOATs meta. But, with the Valiant’s massive changes for the third season, KSF stayed on. This is where he blossomed.
It all started before the third season with his performances for the United States. He was a key substitute for the team in their gold medal winning 2019 campaign. This must’ve helped his confidence, as he started a majority of games with the Valiant in the third season. With his play, the Valiant went from a projected bottom tier team to an eighth place finish in the league. Even with the pandemic and all the issues it caused, they reached the semi-finals for the May Melee. KSF was regarded as one of the best players on the team, which is what made this release questionable earlier this week. But, with this news, it’s obvious that it was a trade to the Outlaws instead.
Houston’s team coming together
With this signing, it’s clear that the team will be a 50/50 split mixed roster. While some releases, trades, or signings might still happen, its clear the roster will have English players and Korean players. With the recent signings of Myung-heum “JJANGGU” Cho and Min-jun “PIGGY ” Shin, he will have to work with Korean teammates who haven’t played competitively with an English speaking player. However, with teammates Dante “Danteh” Cruz, William “Crimzo” Hernandez, and João Pedro “Hydration” Goes Telles, he will be able to fit in. Now, it’s on the coaches to work together and make sure these two halves of a team gel together.
