Reinforce benched by Misfits, seeks new opportunities

Admirable

August 13, 2017

With six days until the first games of Overwatch Contenders Season 1 kick off, Jonathan ”Reinforce” Larsson has announced on Twitter that he is no longer part of the Misfits starting line-up. The Team Sweden main tank remains under contract with Misfits but has been "granted permission to look for opportunities elsewhere".

Putting virtual pen to paper in Santa Monica where he is currently working on the Overwatch World Cup analyst desk, Reinforce has laid out his thoughts on the situation in some detail in a post on Medium entitled "LFT".

The post itself is well worth reading, but with regards to the future of Misfits the main takeaway is that the all-Swedish project was ultimately unsuccessful and that changes are coming. Fans can expect to see new faces lining up for the underperforming squad in the days ahead.

Reading between the lines, Reinforce appears to suggest that at least one of his teammates had lost faith in his abilities as a player:

"...in the case of Misfits, I’d have to fight an uphill battle of changing another player’s perception of me as a person, after already playing together for 9 months, rather than knowing all I’d have to do in order to get a chance was to be better."

In the subsequent paragraphs he goes on to celebrate the journey he has shared with TviQ up until this point, clearly showing his gratitude to the Misfits' maestro. But it remains clear that the core members had reached an impasse with regards to the future of the team.

Over the last eighteen months Reinforce has become one of the most recognisable faces in Overwatch; a poster boy for the fledgling esports scene where he has competed at the highest level for Rogue, Misfits and Team Sweden. A giant both in person and as a public persona, he has straddled the realms of professional play and broadcasting in Overwatch. However, his post has a strict focus on his past, present and future as a pro player; it is clear he is not yet ready to give up on his dream of playing in the Overwatch League.

Eight months later, Misfits appear to be coming to terms with the fact that they were not the winners of the triple shuffle. The roster must rebuild once again and prove they deserve to represent the organisation and Orlando-Miami in the Overwatch League.

Comments:

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#1

HeckingGood

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Reinforce LUL

#2

bvr

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This has been expected for... 6 months? Never was impressed by his play, even tho he seems to be a nice guy.
still, GL

#3

Winter

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Incidentally ever since dive meta came along. His Rein is one of the best in the West, his Winston unfortunately is a long way off.

#7

One_Punch_Man

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True, but his winston have vastly improved. With Rein making a comeback, is this a short sighted move by Misfits? Wonder if there is more behind the scenes (I suspect so, he is a "big" personality and I can imagine there are minor squirmishes). I always thought he was a good Rein, OTP, in his playstyle, while other Reins adopted a multitude of different playstyles with the changing of the meta/players strengths-weaknesses before dive took over.

#8

Winter

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He's apparently been wanting to be replaced by management for a while, but Tviq kept persuading them to keep him on.

#4

bweesh

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I agree, love his Rein.. Also actually like him a lot as an analyst.

#5

blakku

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I would rather expect him to be Misfits coach.

#6

zero

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pen spinning intensifies.

#9

bvr

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He really had the most feeding rein I ever saw :/

#10

DouseTheGame

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I don't think this is going to solve Misfits' problems

#11

Winter

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Neither do I. They need a proper healer. Zebbo is an excellent flex and lucio, but not a flex support.

#12

usse95

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"...suggest that his longtime teammate TviQ had lost faith in his abilities as a player..."
Why is it TviQ this is aimed at? This whole Misfits roster has been together for 9 months (apart from Mineral). As you said, Reinforce has played with TviQ for longer than that, so I don't see how it was TviQ that he needed to convince.

#13

Admirable

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hmmm true I think I really misread that part, will edit

#14

Sideshow

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Really that points at Zebbo, Nevix, or Manneten and since only one of those is a leader figure afaik it does seem to point at Zebbosai.

#15

KuroiRyuu9625

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Looking at the squad, and pretty much eliminating Tviq from the get go, I think this makes much sense. It's unfortunate but I think they really needed a change, though I'd also advocate for more than just this. In my opinion his Rein was excellent but his Winston play had gotten so much better over time so I'm thinking this really was more of a clash of personalities kind of like the Rubikon situation.

I'm just gonna throw the usual Reinforce for NRG? They need a shot calling tank and his skills fit the bill imo. What do ya'll think?

#16

bweesh

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If Ryb were still a free agent I would say they'd probably pick him up to continue the all Swedish roster, but where do they go from here? From the outside I didn't even think that Reinforce was the biggest weak point on the team, but rather their lack of a true flex support.

#20

KuroiRyuu9625

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Ryb is a possibility but is his Winston an upgrade over Reinforce? He's (Winston) pretty much a must have until the meta viably diversifies again.

#17

Involv3r

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Personally never thought of Reinforce as one of the best tanks, his Rein was what divided public opinion on his play in the first place (I don't remember which tournament sadly, but it was months before dive meta on old Rogue).
I do believe that he is a genuinely smart player and wants to be among the best. Good luck to him.

On a side note, I don't think it's safe to assume NRG is still looking for a shotcalling tank, that was when Seamoose was coaching the team. And I don't believe Reinforce was shotcalling on Rogue/Misfits either, maybe calling targets ?

#18

KuroiRyuu9625

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Would Mendo fit into this roster in some fashion or would we be looking at a continuation of the C9/Midfits role confusion?

#19

Ilumination

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Feelsbadman Reinforce improved a lot individually and as a team player.. But the real question is Reinforce the Deficio of Overwatch confirmed? (Anybody who follow LEague? lmao)

#21

FrozenJackal

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So you could say that Misfits have a reinforced bench huh? hahaha ok, I'll see myself out

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