Houston Outlaws acquire Danteh from San Francisco Shock in trade for academy player Smurf

The Houston Outlaws have signed DPS player Dante ‘Danteh’ Cruz from the San Francisco Shock in a trade for GG Esports Academy main tank player Yoo ‘Smurf’ Myeong-hwan.

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The transfer marks the first new addition for each team ahead of Season Two, and will also see Smurf make his Overwatch League debut.

Many anticipated that in Season One Danteh would be a placeholder for Jay ‘sinatraa’ Won on San Francisco Shock, the team’s star DPS who was too young to compete at the start of the season. By the time sinatraa was eligible to play, however, Danteh had proven himself something of a star player in his own right, ultimately sharing time rather than being entirely replaced.

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With the two filling similar roles, it’s little surprise to see Danteh traded by the Shock, and Houston Outlaws is a logical destination. The Outlaws impressed at times in Season One, but their most notable shortcoming was the lack of a solid Tracer player.

Danteh goes to Houston in a trade for Smurf, the main tank of Outlaws’ Contenders team GG Esports Academy. The acquisition means the Shock now again have two options at the position, with David ‘nomy’ Ramirez having departed the team after Season One, and San Francisco can also deploy a Korean tank line by pairing Smurf with flex tank Choi ‘ChoiHyoBin’ Hyo-bin should they choose.

The Outlaws and the Shock are two of only five teams that currently meet the new roster rules for Season Two, which now require teams to have a minimum of eight players. As such neither must make further additions, although the Outlaws have two spots remaining while the Shock have four should they choose to fill them.