Lots of news to catch up on as we finally begin Stage 3 of Season 2! On this episode, Ramses and Lobosco discuss the recent departure of Florida Mayhem players SNT (Awesomeguy) and TviQ, as well as the recent retirement of Toronto Defiant’s Asher. We talk about the lack of news regarding the Stage 3 patch, speculate on the stage meta, and talk about the apparent silence on the topic from the league.

We also discuss Nate Nanzer’s recent decision to step down from OWL, as he takes on a new position in esports at Epic Games. We discuss the ramifications of his resignation, as well as the background of his replacement, Pete Vlastelica. We look at the reports of even more departures from Activision Blizzard’s esports department, including Kim Phan (Global Product Director at Blizzard Esports). We discuss the impact of aggressive commercialization on employee morale, and how it stands to impact OWL.

Lastly, we recap the recent events of the Contenders Atlantic and Pacific Showdown, the EU vs NA clash, and Fusion University’s move Contenders Trials Korea. We also give our Stage 3 predictions, and award our mid-season MVP and Rookie of the Year honors.