The Defiant Are Dark Horses Again - But Is This Year Different?

The Toronto Defiant strut into the league, once again, with a promising roster and mounting expectations. After landing another solid coaching staff and players that both carry potent name recognition and world-class in-game skill, they still are talked about as middling at best. Echoing the same feeling as they did during the franchise debut in 2019, the Defiant has a history of having some quiet potential, letting it shine for just a moment, and then tripping over themselves right as the paradigm is about to shift. The budget for clumsy footing is only dwindling. The 2021 Overwatch League season, nearly across the board, has improved and has become much more competitive. Is 2021 the year that the Toronto Defiant shatters the mould? 

If we look at their 2019 debut, they entered the league with a young roster that individually had success. While beginning on a promising note, the team quickly fell through the cracks. This saw the exodus of talent that truly made a name for themselves outside of Defiant, namely players like Jo "Yakpung" Gyeong-mu and Lee "Ivy" Seung-hyun. 2020 echoes some of the same feelings but ending with an overall similar result. A new promising team, new staff additions, but the same old Toronto Defiant. A pattern is starting to form and the Defiant are quickly being defined as cereal underperformers for one reason or another. However, with their 2021 bid coming online, reviews are already coming in that buck that forming trend.

Starting with the coaching staff, head coach Kim "KDG" Dong-gun just finished what was an impressive season with the Philadelphia Fusion. While it didn’t end on a high note, that shouldn’t take away from his regular-season performance. Assistant coaches Chris "Gl1tch" Infante and Dennis "Barroi" Matz are still impressive pieces in their own evaluations. The former has a stellar track record in Overwatch Contenders across a number of years and the latter is one of the foremost analytical minds in the game, someone who devised and built some of the first statistical models in competitive Overwatch. This is a staff that will undoubtedly bring results and have done so in the past—changing titles shouldn’t hinder them. Similarly, the roster thus far continues to position the Defiant on an upward slope. 

Execution is the only thing standing between the Toronto Defiant and a playoff berth.

Rookie support players Park "Aztac" Jeong-su and An "ANSOONJAE" Soon-jae both come not only with impressive recent showings but the backing of experts and pundits who have followed them through Overwatch Contenders. Not much needs to be said about Kim "SADO" Su-min but opinions still need to be changed apparently. Even though his 2020 performance should have been the end to the doubt that he was a top main tank, the Defiant will cut the discussion off at the pass.

Joining him from the 2020 Fusion lineup is Jeong "Heesu" Hee-su, someone who surpassed expectations alongside some of the same faces that join him in Toronto. While Choi "Michelle" Min-hyuk didn’t see a massive amount of playtime this last season, that doesn’t strip him of his impressive past performances with the Seoul Dynasty. Main tanks are in dire need across the league and Adam "Beast" Denton is someone that still has a future within this game. And anyone that has followed Andreas "Logix" Berghmans career knows what he’s capable of. He’s a statistical monster that really never gets the love he rightfully deserves. Even with a brief and cursory review of the roster in its current form, this looks like something that could jump off the paper, something to be excited about—this is a team that can turn the Defiant around, and they aren’t even finished yet. 

• Read more: 2021 Will Be Overwatch League's Most Compelling Year To Date

Obviously, we have to extend an olive branch as the Defiant have not finished their roster-building process, but when you look at the flex DPS free agents it’s difficult to not be excited to see where they land. For a moment, let’s order the names that first come to mind. Veteran players Kim "Libero" Hae-seong and Kim "Rascal" Dong-jun sit on the table where a rookie like Lee "Na1st" Ho-sung who has been lauded as the next big star still looking for a home. Order those players among the rest of the pack however you like, pick the middle most one, and attempt to evaluate this roster poorly. Toronto is going to have to actively try to dodge flex supports to end without another injection of excitement. That isn’t to say that flex supports are a dime a dozen, but there is a sizeable amount still testing their luck in the free agency market—and with the moves that Toronto has made thus far, they seem to be willing to play ball.

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This year is different, but until pen meets paper and the Defiant put up results it’s difficult to cure them of this looming shadow. KDG is one of the better coaches in the league, one that has shown us, multiple times now, that he has what it takes to take teams far in this league. Combine that with the rest of the support staff and this impressive roster—that still has room to grow—and you’ve manufactured lightning in a bottle. Another attribute that Defiant seems to be showing here is a great eye for talent, but woeful lack of vision or direction for these new players, be it rookies or new arrivals in Toronto, heading into the future. If that changes this year and Toronto has a two to five-year plan for players like Aztac, ANSOONJAE, or whoever else they decide to sign, they should easily begin to shed whatever narrative that these last few seasons put on them. However, we cannot ignore the elephant in the room. 

There still lies the sour possibility that the Defiant, for the third time, blunder what looks to be a promising roster—easily their most potent yet. They’ve landed both rookie and veteran talent, formed a coaching staff with proven success, so what could stop them from beginning to climb? At the end of the day, we have to look at the common denominator throughout these last few years—because we consistently keep coming back to this team with similar opinions. The Defiant always field a fairly good roster, but somehow always bottom out. Who is the person overseeing the gatekeepers to Toronto? 

The coaching staff changes every season, and when we review these last two seasons the support staff sometimes changes during the season. The players all change season to season. Where else is there to look, but up? If 2021 isn’t a massive shift for Toronto then some sweeping changes need to happen at the top of the chain. The roster and staff have proven to be expendable. Year-on-year those pieces change, but those who control the vision, overall strategy and direction the team is headed need to be re-evaluated. That said, this is merely a possibility and shouldn’t cloud the general positivity emanating from the lineup thus far.

The 2021 Toronto Defiant have given themselves all the necessary tools to succeed. This is a roster that has some serious power behind it, led by strong coaches, and who should be in the amalgamation of teams brawling for upper-middle placings. This could be the year they get all their ducks in a row they could very well do something special with this team. 

Execution is the only thing standing between the Toronto Defiant and a playoff berth. 

Images via Blizzard Entertainment