Fan-favourite Overwatch organisation RunAway announces return
After an almost two-year hiatus away from the Overwatch scene, South Korean esports organisation RunAway have announced their return.
14th Feb 2024 17:10
Image via OGN
Fan-favourite Overwatch organisation RunAway announces return
After an almost two-year hiatus away from the Overwatch scene, South Korean esports organisation RunAway have announced their return.
14th Feb 2024 17:10
Image via OGN
Esports organisation and fan favourite RunAway has announced its return to competitive Overwatch. As owner Dae-hoon "Runner" Yoon announced on his Twitter, his team will be making a comeback for the Overwatch Championship series and is looking to participate in the Asian region.
RunAway is back
Almost two years ago, RunAway announced they would be stepping away from competitive Overwatch. In a Twitter post from June 2021, the organisation around the couple Lee "Flowervin" Hyun-a and Dae-hoon "Runner" Yoon shared that they'd be taking a step back from the scene.
While not citing specific reasons, the news arrived amid increasingly tightened budgets in the Overwatch League, making it more challenging for South Korean Tier 2 teams to ask for competitive buyouts. Throughout the history of the now-closed franchise league, a majority of players came from the East Asian country, never fielding less than half of its total player base.
Throughout its history, RunAway was one of the most elite promoters at the top tier level, not just contributing a large number of players but also being the cradle for some of Overwatch esports' most accomplished players such as season 5 champion Han "ChiYo" Hyeon-seok and season 6 winner Choi "MER1T" Tae-min.
During OGN's APEX prior to the start of the Overwatch League, the team had made a name for itself as the perennial runner-up, finishing second in season 2 and 4 before breaking the spell during the Overwatch Contenders Korea series, winning the trophies three times.
During the second season of the Overwatch League, all of its roster was bought out by the Vancouver Titans, immediately shooting the expansion team up the rankings, winning stage 1, and once again falling short of the trophy in the Grand Finals against the San Francisco Shock.
Recapturing OGN APEX
RunAway is seen as a central organisation to Overwatch esports not just due to its contribution of players to the Overwatch League but also because of its cultural impact throughout its history.
Initially, with the owner of the organisation Runner still playing as a player, the pink-sweater-wearing organisation also amassed a sizeable number of fans in Europe and North America. Close-fought battles against another fan-favourite org, Lunatic Hai are held dear in Overwatch fans' hearts.
With Overwatch esports turning to an open system, rumours had circulated that many former faces from the APEX era would be resurfacing to participate in the Overwatch Championship Series. RunAway's recommitment may be the first indication of a renewed interest going forward.
In the Asian region, the OWCS is kicking off on Friday, February 16, with the first open-bracket Swiss matches. Starting from an unannounced later date, OWCS South Korea will air on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays at 5 pm KST / 8 am BST / 3 am EST.
About The Author
Sascha Heinisch
Sascha "Yiska" Heinisch is a Senior Esports Journalist at GGRecon. He's been creating content in esports for over 10 years, starting with Warcraft 3.
Related
More Like This
OWL-winning Coach of the Year retires due to 'lack of financial incentives'
One of the main characters of the last two years of competitive Overwatch just retired, citing gruelling work hours and a lack of income opportunities. Is this yet another canary in the coal mine event for the esport?
31 weeks ago
