Dafran explains why he’s “so glad” MonteCristo left the Overwatch League

Michael Gwilliam
Overwatch pro Dafran stands victorious after a Torbjorn battle at the Atlanta Reign homestand

Former Atlanta Reign star Daniel ‘Dafran’ Francesca elaborated on his views towards ex-Overwatch League casters Christopher ‘MonteCristo’ Mykles and Auguste ‘Semmler’ Massonnat during a January 15 Twitch stream.

After discussing the comments he made specifically towards former on-air talent Malik Forte, the Overwatch streamer once again claimed he was glad that MonteCristo and Semmler had left the league.

“Why do you feel that way towards Monte?” the DPS prodigy read a comment in his chat. “I don’t know, man. There’s just something about him, dude. He’s just full of himself.”

Overwatch caster MonteCristo stares ahead during an esports match at Blizzard Arena
MonteCristo is a legendary esports commentator.

For some, Mykles can be quite polarizing, due to his cocky on-air persona larger than life character – though it’s unclear if these traits are what Francesca was referencing.

It would also appear that Dafran and Monte had some sort of history, but the streamer refused to go into greater detail at the risk of creating additional drama. “I’m not going to say everything,” he laughed. “You guys are going to clip it.”

The Atlanta Reign streamer did, however, provide one final piece of info. “Let’s just say I’d rather have Jake instead of Monte,” he admitted.

Jacob ‘Jake’ Lyon is a now-retired Overwatch pro, who announced he would be doing commentary in season 3 with the recently-promoted Andrew ‘ZP’ Rush.

During the same stream, Dafan also touched on comments he made regarding host Malik Forte leaving OWL because he didn’t agree with what Blizzard had offered him in compensation.

As Dexerto previously reported, Malik took issue with Dafran after he called former league talent an “overrated Gucci brand.”

Overwatch League host Malik Forte looks confused at comments made on the desk
Malik Forte fired back after Dafran called him an “overrated Gucci brand.”

“Damn son, ‘Gucci?’ You know how racist they are and how much I don’t like them. You could’ve at least said like ‘Lululemon,’” Malik fired back on Twitter. “Real talk tho, don’t misinform ya fans man, you don’t know my or anyone’s situation. Have a lil’ respect, my G.”

According to Francesca, when he was laying in bed, he thought about the comments he made – and while he refused to back down, he did, however, announce that he liked Malik more than MonteCristo and Semmler.

“I kinda like Malik,” the Danish streamer stated. “But the other things I said, I don’t [take] back.”

It will be interesting to see there’s any further backlash for Dafran’s comments, as well as other plans the Overwatch League has for broadcast talent heading into season 3.

Season 3 of the Overwatch League begins Saturday, February 8, with matches in Dallas and New York.