Another Contenders player is being pulled up to the big leagues. The London Spitfire officially signed Kristian “Kellex” Keller to its 2021 Overwatch League roster today.
Kellex has several years of experience playing in OWL already, having played for both the Boston Uprising and Toronto Defiant in the past before retiring and later deciding to return to the game.
He was initially signed to the Uprising as part of the organization’s inaugural season roster, playing two seasons with the squad before moving on and joining Defiant. He spent around six months with the Toronto squad before retiring on May 1.
After several months of sitting on the sidelines, Kellex decided to make a comeback through Contenders, joining the British Hurricane ahead of the July tournament. Along with teammates like Riku “Ripa” Toivanen, the Hurricane went on to dominate EU Contenders, winning seven of eight events they competed in, including the 2020 EU Gauntlet.
As a result of this dominance, Spitfire called up Ripa and Kellex from its Contenders affiliate to help build out its 2021 OWL roster. The duo will make up the team’s main support lineup while the organization continues to sign new talent after it released every player from the previous season’s roster.
Jeffrey “blasé” Tsang is the only other player under contract with the Spitfire following the team’s decision to release Kim “Fuze” Tae-hoon yesterday.
