With roster locks happening on a weekly basis during the regular season, many teams participating in Overwatch Contenders Season One have taken the opportunity to include high-profile players willing to sit on the bench until they find a team ready to include them on their starting roster.

When the Contenders team pages first went live, it was reported that FaZe Clan brought Surefour onto their bench, Hidan was part of the reserves for Bazooka Puppiez, and Mineral would remain a substitute for Misfits despite being moved to the coaching role. These won't be the only notable players partaking in substitute duties, however. sinatraa begins the season riding the bench for Team EnVyUs, along with Coach KyKy. Former Rise Nation DPS xretzi will be on the bench for Detroit Renegades, along with the team's coaching staff. FNRGFE expanded their bench, which formerly included enigma, adding in former NRG teammate, dummy. Kungarna included more than just one new player in their bench, instead adding three. Gods, DreamKazper, and Goliath are all now backups for the squad.

Most of these additions, even the ones already reported on, will likely be temporary. Teams forfeit matches if they cannot field at least six players and want to have the insurance should one of their starters have technical difficulties. With rosters capable of being changed on a weekly basis, players not currently on a Contenders starting six have nothing to lose by acting as substitutes for teams until they get their chance to play or get added to a starting role for a squad. Of course, there are exceptions. Kolsti was recently added as a sub for Rogue to fill in for a later date, when winz will be away competing in QuakeCon. Even in this case, however, it is unknown if he will continue backing up for Rogue once winz returns.