The Overwatch League’s Philadelphia Fusion Signs Elk

The Philadelphia Fusion is one of the top teams in the Overwatch League. They famously toppled the top-seeded NYXL in the playoffs and finished second place in the overall season. So it only makes sense that they aim to pick up top-level talent.

Enter Eli “Elk” Gallagher. The pro team announced on Twitter that they’d signed the young player from the Overwatch World Cup and Overwatch Contenders. But the Fusion, being one of the sillier teams in the league, decided to have a little fun. Their initial announcement was an obvious troll, stating that they’d only acquired Elk to immediately trade him to the Philadelphia Flyers – a hockey team – for the rights to their mascot. It was all in good fun, and they made the proper announcement shortly thereafter.

But seriously. Welcome to the @Fusion, @Elk!

"Elk has been an outstanding player for us. It's easy to forget how young he is given his maturity and professionalism. He plays a cerebral style and studies the game constantly. We're thrilled to have him join the Fusion!" – @BLT pic.twitter.com/PyOg5DDPKh

— Philadelphia Fusion (@Fusion) September 25, 2018

Elk is an exceptionally skilled support player. He’s the former main support for Team USA in the Overwatch World Cup – one of the better teams. He also filled the role for Fusion University in Overwatch Contenders, going on to become Champion of that competition for two straight seasons. There he acted as the team leader, seeing that the team went undefeated both times. He filled a major role for the team but viewed Overwatch Contenders as a learning environment and place to improve as a player. He stated in an interview with OverwatchScore that the Overwatch League wasn’t the place for that.

Elk joins Neptuno in the main support role for the Philadelphia Fusion. Neptuno became well known in the Overwatch League for his dangerously bloodthirsty Battle Mercy. He made a habit of gaining style points by getting eliminations then resurrecting fallen comrades right on the backs of those kills. However, Mercy isn’t as much a part of the metagame as she once was.

Neptuno is an exceptional Lucio player as well. But the current meta heavily favors Ana. Elk happens to be an Ana and Lucio main, so it’s probably reasonable to expect him to be starting come the next season of the Overwatch League. However, there are a lot of new balance changes coming out all the time. Also, new heroes and maps constantly get released. These things also change the meta in big ways. So time will tell how great an asset Elk will be.