Australia’s most dominant team, Blank Esports, have undergone changes to their roster ahead of the commencement of the second season of the Pacific Championship. The Australians entered the inaugural season with high expectations, boasting a hefty win streak accumulated through victories against both Oceanic and Asian teams. However, Flash Wolves had other plans, outclassing Blank after the opening stages of the tournament and defeating the team in the final.
Kiki and Aetar are no longer members of the team, their departure from the roster due to 'personal commitments' as per the official announcement. This marks the first major change to Blank Esports' active roster since late last year, although the pair will remain signed to the organisation for now.
Oceanic players Hoowoo and Hus will reportedly fill the absent roster spots, both leaving Australian team Masterminds GC to compete with Blank in Taiwan. Hus is no stranger to Blank, having previously subbed for the team as a DPS player whilst they were still competing in Australia as Fusion Girls. The new additions are generally regarded as some of the most talented players from the Oceanic region, with the duo securing a LAN victory earlier this year with Masterminds in the CyberGamer OCE Circuit and HooWoo attending the Santa Monica World Cup Qualifier with Team New Zealand.
Blank have a difficult task ahead of them in the second season of the Pacific Championship. Korean team Ardeont qualified for the event without dropping a match in the the Season 2 qualifier, whilst teams such as MEGA Thunder look to up their game after undergoing roster changes during the off-season. The new additions to Blank's roster could prove to return them to the top of Asian-Pacific Overwatch, as the team struggled with an inflexible hero pool at times last season, but they will not go unchallenged.
Whilst as of yet unconfirmed, it is highly likely that Kiki and Aetar will both remain on the Team Australia roster that will travel to Blizzcon later this year. Blank Esports will not play until the second week of the Pacific Championship, with the full fixture set to be released before the event's commencement on Friday.
The active roster of Blank Esports is now:
- Jason "ieatuup" Ho (DPS)
- Huseyin "Hus" Sahin (DPS)
- Daniel "HooWoo" McIntosh (Flex)
- Ashley "Trill" Powell (Tank)
- Jordan "Gnb" Graham (Support)
- Andrew "Rqt" Haws (Support)
- Jason "SereNity" Wang (Coach/Substitute)
- Daniel "Doctor" Russell (Coach)