Simplicity, an esports organization owned by Memphis Grizzlies and Swansea City minority owner Jed Kaplan, has entered Contenders North America. The organization bought their place in Contenders from FNRGFE, according to ESPN'S Jacob Wolf.
We have officially entered the Overwatch contenders league. #KeepItSimple https://t.co/OMwr1t4Bde pic.twitter.com/gMa7IVuayQ
— Simplicity (@GGSimplicity) February 13, 2018
Simplicity announced its initial entry into esports in January and first entered competition in Heroes of the Storm's HGC, another Blizzard esports title. The organization formed a Fortnite team the beginning of February, making Overwatch just the third game the young organization has participated in. The team has yet to announce a roster.
The sale of FNRGFE officially marks the end of the corndogs' existence in Overwatch. The team formed as a mix of former Gale Force eSports, NRG and Fnatic players just before the start of Contenders Season Zero and went on a Cinderella run that saw the team defeat Selfless and ARC 6 on their way to qualifying for Contenders Season One 2017. The team continued its improbable success in Season One when they qualified for the tournament's LAN playoffs and finished 3rd/4th overall.
FNRGFE's days seemed numbered when five of the roster's starting six was signed to the Houston Outlaws before the start of the Overwatch League. While it appeared buds and Aero initially intended to build a new roster under the corndogs' banner, that dream quickly vanished after buds joined EnVision and Aero joined Fusion University.
Simplicity will be seen participating in Overwatch for the first time in Contenders Season 1 2018 North America in March.