Laser Kittenz, a new mixed-nationality Overwatch team, launched on Sunday.
The team will combine both former players of Bench Boys and new additions in hopes of obtaining a spot and participating in the Overwatch League, which is set to debut in September. The team is currently talking to investors to achieve this goal, because of Overwatch developer Blizzard Entertainment reportedly seeking up to $30 million for a spot in the league, according to a report by the Sports Business Journal.
Its lineup currently fields Finley "Kyb" Adisi, Sergi "Winghaven" Torras, Luís "Greyy" Perestrelo and Carl "crems" Aspehult from Bench Boys, as well as Nikolaj "Zaprey" Moses and Herman "Nesh" Kobrin. Chris "spazzo" Infante will coach the team and CEO and founder Ali "Alicus" Saba will oversee operations.
The team's competitive debut begins Monday in the European leg of the Overwatch PIT Championship. Over the course of the coming weeks, the team will face off against Ninjas in Pyjamas, Team Dignitas, Misfits, eUnited and more.
"We're all very excited about the upcoming Overwatch League," Saba told ESPN. "It is a new approach to the competitive aspect of gaming, and obviously that is what we are here to do. We have been in talks with some entities that are interested in buying into the league, but we are all waiting on more clarity from Blizzard before we commit anywhere."
"We're in no rush to take a deal, our focus is entirely on how to best utilize the talent that we have at hand and we fully intend to give the viewers something worth watching. I'm excited to work with these players, and I believe the lineup has all the tools to surge to the top," he added.
The team will be Zaprey's return to the competitive scene following a brief retirement in 2016, when he wanted to focus on his education. He and Saba worked together on Misfits, where Saba served as general manager before both parties departed the organization.
Kyb and Winghaven are no strangers to competing at the highest level of Overwatch either. Both players played for Reunited, one of the top Overwatch teams in Europe that's since disbanded and had the majority of its roster acquired.
"I'm really happy to compete and be on a solid team again, with Alicus in management, whom I met in Korea back in APEX season 1 and have a lot of respect for, so I'm really comfortable with the project," Winghaven told ESPN. "Looking forward to the Overwatch Pit in the next days, where we're gonna showcase our lineup and we'll do our best, even though we didn't have much time to play together with the roster."