Caster Soe Gschwind announced via a tweet late last night that she will be hosting the Overwatch League desk for the 2020 season. This announcement comes after five Overwatch casters announced they will not be returning in 2020.
A new year, a new role…exciting times ahead!
Looking forward to another year in the @overwatchleague – I'll try my best to make y'all proud as I'm taking on some new responsibilities for the upcoming season. Thank you for your continued support! 🥰#IcantsingbutIdontcare pic.twitter.com/poeawft55D— Soe Gschwind 💙 (@Soembie) January 22, 2020
Soe’s announcement came in the form of a song. While playing the ukelele, she expresses that she is sad about all the cast members leaving, but that she would be stepping up to host the Overwatch League desk in 2020.
Soe is a good choice to host the desk in 2o20. She has been a caster since the Overwatch League’s inaugural season in 2018. She has 127,500 followers on Twitter and is a recognizable face in the community.
The casters leaving
As previously mentioned, five prominent casters have announced that they will not be involved with the Overwatch League this year. Here’s a quick rundown of everyone who’s already said their goodbyes.
Christopher “MonteCristo” Mykles
MonteCristo has been an esports caster for quite some time now, and started casting for the Overwatch League in 2018. He left at the end of 2019, tweeting that he was leaving to “pursue further career growth” and that there were “philosophical differences between him and the league’s leadership.”
I would like to announce that today is the last day of my @overwatchleague contract and I will not be returning next year. Although I had a great time helping to develop and launch the league in the first two seasons, I am leaving to pursue further career growth. (1/12) pic.twitter.com/FyGGskC1tN
— MonteCristo (@MonteCristo) December 31, 2019
Chris Puckett
Puckett stated in a tweet that he was leaving to live with his wife in New York. The Overwatch League is based on the west coast and wasn’t a good fit for him. He also mentioned that he wanted to pursue more freelance work with other games he loves.
2020 Life Update
Ready for this Freelance Hustle pic.twitter.com/22oTtW9uiY
— Puckett For Hire (@MLGPuckett) January 1, 2020
Malik Forté
Forté has hosted the Overwatch League from the beginning, and just announced his departure a little over a week ago. There were apparently some salary disagreements, according to an article on Kotaku.
I'm not returning to the OWL broadcast team for 2020, for those who've asked 😢
It's been a long journey with the OW community so it saddens me to say. A HUGE thanks to all the fans, the amazing production crew, my talent team family and most importantly, the players! pic.twitter.com/PCwmllsOYj
— Malik 🎤 (@Malik4Play) January 14, 2020
Erik “DoA” Lonnquist
DoA has been MonteCristo’s partner since their days in the LCK. His announcement came shortly after his partners. According to the aforementioned Kotaku article, DoA didn’t like the direction the Overwatch League was moving in and wanted to pursue freelance, similarly to MonteCristo.
Auguste “Semmler” Massonnat
Semmler’s departure was due to a loss of interest in the game. In an interview with The Loadout, he states that he was treated well by Blizzard, but was having trouble staying hyped about Overwatch.
Despite the departures, Soe sounds eager to take on the new challenge. It will be exciting to see what unfolds for the Overwatch League in 2020.
