Chinese Overwatch League team Chengdu Hunters reportedly disband

Chinese Overwatch League team Chengdu Hunters have reportedly disbanded as its players have either moved on to a different team or are now free agents. The team was not included in the OWL schedule to start the season.

Chengdu Hunters have disbanded, according to The Esports Advocate, as the team’s players have either moved to a different team or are going to test the free-agent market.

The Chinese team’s exit from the Overwatch League has been expected as the organization was not scheduled to play in any matches as the competition started up for the 2023 season. The league issued a statement on April 18 to address the matter, saying it would share more information in the future about the fate of the franchise.

“Ahead of our season start, we wanted to share with the community that the Chengdu Hunters are not included in today’s schedule announcement, as they continue to contemplate the future direction of their team,” the statement said.

Chengdu Hunters are no longer in Overwatch League

The franchise has been quiet on socials since January, posting “Goodbye and see you again.” on Twitter on January 23. That was also the same day that Overwatch 2 and all other Blizzard titles were shut down in mainland China as the developer’s distribution deal with its Chinese partner, NetEase, was not renewed.

Other Chinese franchises, like the Hangzhou Spark and the Shanghai Dragons, have been able to work around the shutdown and are still competing in the league. The Spark also has two players that left the Chengdu Hunters in the offseason in Huang ‘leave’ Xin and Zhou ‘Mmonk’ Xiang.

The Hunters are owned and operated by the Chinese streaming platform Huya and were previously run by the esports organization Royal Never Give Up until 2020. The Overwatch League is currently ongoing with its Spring Stage in full swing.

Dexerto has reached out to the Overwatch League for comment. This story will be updated as more information is provided.