The Toronto Defiant Toronto Defiant OWL Rank #14 Twilight Lee Joo-seok (이주석) flex support Heesu Jeong Hee-su (정희수) dps Finale dps MuZe Kim Young-hun (김영훈) tank Ch0r0ng support have announced they will partner with Mirage Sport Électronique Mirage Sport Électronique Inactive Pizzademon Brent Lanoix flex support Shuh Pfleger Alban off tank Carter Carter Smith dps Chayne Shayne La Rocque tank Ojee Christian Han support to run an academy team based in Montreal, Quebec. The team will eventually play in an esports arena in Montreal.

A news release of the partnership revealed the team will consist of seven players, two coaches and a general manager. The roster will be revealed in the coming days.

The team will be housed in Montreal. The news post claims it will be the first official gaming house in Quebec's history.

According to the news release, the roster will begin playing in the Esports Central Arena in downtown Montreal during Contenders 2019 Season 2. The arena will be able to hold 500 spectators.

The players, logo, team name and brand identity will be revealed early next week in a Montreal media event, the news post said.

While it may be the first time a Montreal-based Contenders team plays live in Montreal, this will not be Montreal's first foray into Overwatch Contenders. In Contenders 2018 Season 1, two Quebec-based organizations—EnVision eSports and Grizzlys Esports—competed in Contenders North America. Neither returned for Contenders Season 2. Grizzlys were relegated into Trials and failed to requalify while EnVision eSports sold their roster to Team Envy.

The news post also included the first official announcement of a start date for Contenders 2019. Contenders North America will begin February 25.