The 2019 OWL season is fast approaching and with plenty of new teams, players, and storylines to look out for, the league will surely have more intrigue than ever before. Below are the most interesting players heading into the season. You definitely want to keep an eye on these pros throughout the course of the year.

Jjonak

The reigning OWL MVP, Sung-hyeon "JJonak" Bang, has something to prove in 2019 - that he can carry his team to a championship. Throughout all of 2018, the New York Excelsior proved that they were the strongest regular season team in the entire league, but their playoff performance left a lot to be desired. After taking a trip to consecutive stage championships (while winning two of them), the NYXL dominated the rest of the OWL for the first five months of the season.

Then July came.

The team collapsed in the second round of the playoffs - posting an early exit thanks to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of the Philadelphia Fusion. The team’s usually unbreakable players all broke down, while Jjonak himself played an incredibly underwhelming series, posting a +/- of -22, a KD of .70, and an FKDiff of -7. The league’s mightiest player went out with a whimper in 2018, but in 2019, look for him to have vengeance in his eyes. The Excelsior is stronger than ever and will surely be looking to finish what they started - with Jjonak leading the way yet again.

Sinatraa

It’s hard to think of many other players who have ever generated generated more pre-debut hype than Jay "Sinatraa" Won, who burst into the public eye at the 2017 Overwatch World Cup, making a statement with his gameplay and a name for himself. However, San Francisco could never really pull things together in 2018, as Sinatraa’s talents - which had been something the team was banking on before his OWL debut - really didn’t come to fruition. Although he was touted as a top-tier Tracer player, he never really proved that he was worthy of that title. In fact, Sinatraa could never get a grasp on hitscan characters, posting just over 12 minutes played on characters other than Tracer. By the end of the year, it was his Brigitte and Zarya that defined him.

Throughout the year, he struggled with rookie jitters, making constant mistakes and playing down to a level we normally hadn’t seen from him on the international level. Before coming to the Shock, Sinatraa truly was one of the most hyped up players in Overwatch history.

The idea of a rising young star coming into the league and taking things by storm was something that the Overwatch community could really get behind. But when the young prodigy struggled to gain traction, he fell to the wayside. And as we head into the 2019 season, the Shock has picked up some serious talent over the course of the offseason, particularly at the DPS position. With players like Dong-jun "Rascal" Kim and Nam-joo "Striker" Kwon lining the board, Sinatraa’s fate remains unclear. Will he become a forgotten star set to fade away? Or will he take the Shock and lead the team to glory as was prophesied?

Profit

The Champion. The Prefect. The Playoffs MVP. Joon-yeong "Profit" Park is the unquestioned greatest DPS player in the world. And in 2019, look for him to continue his reign of dominance. After carrying the London Spitfire to the inaugural OWL championship last season (as well as a Stage 1 title), Profit quickly became the standout star on a team packed to the brim with talent. He dominated the league week in and week out, proving that he was not only one of the league’s most talented players, but perhaps its most consistent.

And when it came down to the wire in the Grand Final, Profit proved that on top of everything else, he was also the league’s most clutch player. During that set with the Philadelphia Fusion, Profit posted a KD of 2.5 and a +/- of 53. Additionally, Profit managed to get off 53 Ults over the course of 7 games, the most of any player in that series by far.

Something came over Profit at the Barclays Center that night. And during the course of those few hours, he transformed from a dynamic great to a certified legend. It hasn’t taken long for Profit to rise into the upper echelon of the Overwatch League, and as we move ahead into the league’s second season, there’s no doubt that London’s franchise player will be ready to dominate once again.

Diya

Weida "Diya" Lu is definitely going to be one of the most intriguing players in all of Overwatch this season, as his team, the Shanghai Dragons, decided to completely overhaul its roster heading into the new year. The only players alongside Diya to be retained by the Dragons were Se-yeon "Geguri" Kim and Eui-Seok "Fearless" Lee. However, after joining the team in late 2017, Diya has taken on the mantle of franchise player for the team, and as the organization now looks to bounce back from the worst season in the history of professional organized esports, it will surely look to its on-stage leader as a beacon of potential hope.

Janus

The season hasn’t even started and seemingly everyone is already counting the Washington Justice out. Of all the OWL expansion teams for this season, the Justice has put together what looks like a lackluster roster in respect to the rest of the newcomers. However, the team surely cannot be counted out as long as Joon-hwa "Janus" Song leads the roster.

When he joined the Justice in September of last year, Janus became the focal point of the team, as the organization proved that by singing him first - three months before completing the remainder of the roster - they were willing to make him a priority. And now, Janus has the chance to prove that he’s worth of that prioritization. After spending the entirety of last season sitting behind Dong-gyu "Mano" Kim for the New York Excelsior, Janus struggled to pull it together and break the precipice of success.

Perhaps in 2019, in addition to finally getting his chance to shine, he can lay the groundwork for a team that desperately needs a leader.

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