Dafran Resigns From Overwatch Competitive Play, Focus on Streaming

Daniel "dafran" Francesca has again decided to retire from playing competitive Overwatch. He will no longer play competitively, but will still be part of Atlanta Reign as a streamer. In post Thursday on TwitLonger, dafran added that this is "unlike the throw4dafran nekopara selfless incident."

Fans of the League will remember that dafran started his professional career in 2017 with Selfless Gaming. By the middle of the same year, he would get suspended from participating in all events sanctioned by Blizzard. The main reason was that he was said to be griefing in ranked play, and was throwing games. He defended his actions then by saying that "I did what I did to get out of professional Overwatch, it was the only way, I was not sure if I would get banned or not, but I would accept it openly and very happily if it happens." He added that he had wanted to get out as it made him bored and depressed.

Dafran said further that he tried “reforming, but it simply aint me” and that he chose “to stay true to myself and enjoy what I enjoy, staying a Manchild.” It should be worth noting that a month after dafran was suspended, Selfless Gaming released all players and closed down.

A year after his suspension he would sign on with NRG Esports but as a streamer and not a player. Towards the end of 2018, he would join Atlanta Reign, marking his return to professional competition.

This time around, dafran gave thanks to the Atlanta Reign for the opportunity to be in the OWL. He commented that "[p]rofessional gaming was always the biggest dream of mine since I was very young" but "[s]adly it is not anymore" and that he "would rather be a streamer at this point in life and chill"

This latest move from dafran may not be a major surprise, since back in November he initially tweeted that he thought he could love Overwatch again but ended up hating it. He also said that his contract had ended. However, he would retract this a day later saying the he "messed up, dont know what to say except sorry to the community, my fans and ATL." He further added that he would "stream less and focus on making myself and my team better."

In his latest statement, dafran said he “will remember this for the rest of my life with no regret and I can’t thank Sephy (Head Coach Brad Rajani) enough for pushing me forward to try it out. Thank you ATL Reign and OWL.”