Philadelphia Fusion head coach Hayes announces departure

Overwatch League franchise Philadelphia Fusion co-head coach Elliot Hayes revealed on social media that he would be parting ways with the organization. In a Twitter post, the former head coach asked for teams within the Overwatch League to contact him.

Thank you. LFT.

Read: https://t.co/6nYllbUaXU

— Coach Hayes (@Hayez) October 6, 2019

Elliot Hayes and the ups and downs of Philadelphia Fusion

“My two years with Fusion has come to an end, it’s been a rollercoaster of highs and lows and I’m very grateful for the experience. The org has always been such a pleasure to work with and I wish everyone within Fusion the best of luck,” wrote former Philadelphia Fusion co-head coach Hayes in a statement. “Thank you to all the players that I’ve worked with, staff that have supported me and most importantly fans that have cheered for Fusion.”

Hayes is a British coach who started his career in Overwatch in 2016. While Hayes has played Overwatch competitively as a player, most of his roles have been in coaching positions. He notably joined eUnited in January of 2017, where the team went on to take first in Season 0 of the European Overwatch Contenders league.

With the start of franchising, he joined the Philadelphia Fusion, which placed 6th during the inaugural season. The Fusion ultimately finished in 2nd place in the Overwatch League playoffs. He later also represented Team United Kingdom as a committee member in the Overwatch World Cup. However, the Philadelphia Fusion did not repeat their Season 1 success in Season 2, finished in 10th out of 20.

This is our house.

Presenting the Fusion Arena. #IonThePrize pic.twitter.com/EdhwHKLibg

— Philadelphia Fusion (@Fusion) September 25, 2019

Meanwhile, Comcast Spectacor recently had a breaking ground ceremony with a $50 million esports arena in Philadelphia named the Fusion Arena. The 60,000 square-foot arena will finish construction and open in 2021 to showcase the Philadelphia Fusion, so now the organization just needs to live up to its lofty expectations.

Changes to the Fusion’s coaching staff like this are expected after the Fusion’s poor results last season. Former Director of Overwatch Operations Yann “Kirby” Luu also announced his departure from the Fusion in September. With a parent company that owns the NHL team Philadelphia Flyers and NLL team Philadelphia Wings, the Fusion definitely has the pedigree to inspire a grand finals run in Season 3 with the right alterations.