The Philadelphia Fusion has officially rebranded ahead of the 2023 Overwatch League season, taking on the name Seoul Infernal and making the move to South Korea official, the team announced today.
In a press release from today, the owners in Comcast Spectacor said that the franchise will move its operations to Seoul immediately, bringing the former Fusion team closer to its “sister organization” in T1, which Comcast Spectator also operates in a joint venture with SK Telecom.
The Infernal will retain all the “ownership, management, and roster of currently signed players” from Fusion, while also promising to bring in new player additions to fill out the team before the start of the 2023 season, according to the press release. The team also plans to “unveil fresh logos, new jerseys and more” soon.
As the Fusion, the team has already been operating out of South Korea since early 2020 following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The team in previous years has competed with a mix of international talent, but during the 2022 season, they competed solely with Korean players for the first time. One of the team’s star players from last year, Lee “Carpe” Jae-hyeok, recently retired from pro play to pursue a pro VALORANT opportunity with T1.
The newly rebranded Seoul Infernal will join the Seoul Dynasty in South Korea’s capital, joining the likes of Los Angeles when it comes to two teams “competing” in the same city. But since the start of the 2021 season, the L.A. Valiant has based its operations in the East as well, running with primarily Chinese/Korean rosters over the past two seasons.
The Seoul Infernal will be the second OWL team to relocate prior to the 2023 season after the Paris Eternal announced its plans to move to Las Vegas before the league’s sixth season begins.
