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NYXL add HOTBA, Bischu rejoins Gladiators ahead of Overwatch League roster deadline

Aaron "Bischu" Kim is back with the Los Angeles Gladiators after a short stint on the Guangzhou Charge in Season 2 of the Overwatch League. Robert Paul/Provided by Blizzard Entertainment

The New York Excelsior added off-tank Choi "HOTBA" Hong-jun to their Season 3 roster Friday.

The 19-year-old South Korean played for the Guangzhou Charge in Season 2 after being transferred to the expansion team from the Philadelphia Fusion.

HOTBA had been a free agent since the end of Season 2.

"I Will Go To The Final With @NYXL and I Will Win," he tweeted Friday. "Thank you for all your support !!"

HOTBA is the eighth player on the NYXL roster, meeting Friday's roster minimum deadline. The team had previously parted with Hwang "Fl0w3r" Yeon-oh and Kim "MekO" Tae-hong this offseason.

Bischu rejoins Los Angeles Gladiators

Off-tank Aaron "Bischu" Kim has rejoined the Los Angles Gladiators, the team announced via Twitter on Friday.

Bischu played for the Gladiators for the majority of his Overwatch League career. He was traded to the Guangzhou Charge late in the 2019 season, and his return to the Gladiators marks the first time an OWL player has gone back to a team from which he was dealt.

"I'm back :D, excited to come back to my HOME team! See you guys in the upcoming season," Bischu tweeted.

Bischu was relied on heavily during the first OWL season in 2018: The bilingual leader of that Los Angeles roster was able to translate for his South Korean teammates.

During Season 2, Bischu was sidelined when he suffered from ulcerative colitis. In April, he took a two-way contract to help out the Gladiators' Overwatch Contenders team, Gladiators Legion, before returning to league play. The two-way contract allowed Bischu to play for the Legion -- a lower-level team -- on a temporary basis while still playing a set amount of games for OWL.

Before Stage 4 of the 2019 OWL season, the Gladiators traded Bischu to the Charge. He didn't see extensive play time during the latter part of the season, and the Charge ended the year in ninth place.

The Gladiators finished the regular season with a 17-11 mark, good for fifth place. Thy won an opening-round match in the postseason playoffs, then lost two in a row, getting eliminated by the eventual champion San Francisco Shock.

--Field Level Media