Earlier today, MVP’s Heroes team manager Kim Gwang-bok announced that both MVP Black and Miracle would continue to play in 2017 but that some roster changes were in order.

Sign and Rich, two of MVP Black’s most crucial players, are retiring and taking a much-needed break from the hustle and bustle of pro gaming. Swapping over from Miracle, Tsstt and Reset will be taking over the roles of tank and melee flex. To fill the open spots on Miracle, former Tempest players Dami and recently un-retired HongCoNo will be joining.

MVP Black
Sake
KyoCha
merryday
Ttsst
Reset

MVP Miracle
Cmoving
Sniper
Darvish
Dami
HongCoNo

The official statement indicated that Rich and Sign just needed a break from the game, but it’s unclear exactly why the players decided to leave. According to Reddit user henrax, the reasons for Rich’s departure may go a bit deeper than the announcement suggests. In private conversations, Rich had mentioned his financial issues and frustration with MVP. Rich later refuted specific arguments like bad player contracts or infighting, but it’s still clear he was under a lot of stress playing on MVP over the last few months.

<Hello, this is MVP Rich.

Before I begin, I would like to say that I'm sorry to all of my and HotS fans for disappointing them. I contemplated for three months, but I've finally decided. I'm taking a break from professional HotS in 2017. I don't know what I'll be doing instead, but this is for me to live my life to its fullest and make better decisions with my future. I really love HotS, and I think it's really fun, but in the end, I had to think realistically and can't say for sure that I'll be returning in 2018. I'll be thinking and trying a lot of new things in 2017, and I might return to HotS if I decide that life with HotS is indeed right for me.

I would also like to say thank you for all MVP coaching staff and HotS fans. No matter what I do in future, I'll never forget all the things you've taught me that helped me in my life and made me a better person. I know that people don't change easily, but I think I did for the better and I want to be even better than I am now. I'll be occasionally keeping in touch via Twitter. Thank you for all of your kind words.>

Rich released a public statement via Twitter about his retirement alongside the announcement. While he didn’t mention anything about the organization itself, he was very grateful to his fans and Coach815 for all the support they have given him and said he may decide to come back to Heroes in the future. For now, it’s likely that he’ll be playing League of Legends or Dota 2 full-time. Sign has yet to release a statement.

It’s a huge blow to MVP Black to lose some of the best mechanical players in the world, but the newest roster is nothing to scoff at. Ttsst is an apt replacement for Sign, and Reset has improved greatly in 2016 to become a premier melee assassin player. The two began their Heroes of the Storm career together on Team Asia StarDust in 2015 and over the course of this last year have consistently carved out a name for themselves as some of the best players in Korea. Based on their history and playstyles, they should synergize perfectly with Black’s bulky, brute-force style of play.

Miracle has always been the more creative of the two teams, and the signing on of HongCoNo and Dami promises to carry the team to new heights. Famous for his unique Muradin builds, HongCoNo brings a lot of clever tactics and ideas to the table. Dami’s hyper-aggression may also allow for some more unorthodox strategies to emerge, like Tempest’s “protect the Greymane” composition.

Nonetheless, it’s the end of an era. MVP Black was by far the most dominant team in 2016, and in fact, all of HotS history. Their accomplishments this year are a 71% overall win rate in premier tournaments as well as four first place finishes and several more grand final appearances. Black still holds the record for the longest winning streak at 41 consecutive maps as well. It’s unlikely there will ever be another team as powerful and talented as Black’s roster in 2016.