The Overwatch Champions Series (OWCS) is underway, with Stage 2 kicking off in several regions, including North America.
Ahead of OWCS NA Stage 2, some major roster changes have been made in the hopes of landing a spot in the Midseason Championship and qualifying for Stage 3 later this year. This includes entire teams shifting in some cases.
Highlighted by the official Overwatch Esports account, these are the most noteworthy team changes in summary:
- NTMR to Geekay Esports
- Avidity to Extinction
- RAD Esports to Sakura
- Timeless to NTMR
“Can’t spell shenanigans without NA in the middle,” it wrote online. “A few teams have changed up their branding coming into Stage 2 – but they’re still the rosters you know and love at the end of the day!”
Sakura Esports introduced a new roster on May 9th, 2025, with four of its players previously competing for the now disbanded RAD Esports Overwatch team back in NA Stage 1. Its most noteworthy player is Jonathan ‘CLEAR’ Foraker, who formerly played for NTMR.
Geekay Esports announced its roster for Overwatch on May 10th, 2025 after acquiring the NTMR roster. The four signed NTMR players competed through to the OWCS 2025 Champions Clash together, ultimately placing third in after losing 0-3 to Crazy Raccoon.
NTMR was amongst the first to unveil a new roster ahead of NA Stage 2 on May 3rd, 2025. With some of its active members, such as Julian ‘Rokit’ Pizana, formerly playing for Timeless.
Extinction announced its debut for OWCS NA Stage 2 with a reveal trailer on May 9th, 2025, after it acquired Avidity’s roster. Extinction is best known for hosting the Ice Age Invitational earlier this year.
The NA OW2 2025 competitive space heats up as older teams join — armed with new members and organisations — and new esports organisations enter the scene, looking to shake up the competition.
