Much like the legendary hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, Jeromy “Moopey” Lensky has traveled far and seen a great many different folk. While Bilbo traversed Middle Earth, Moopey has spent his time navigating the mysterious world of competitive Overwatch.
The 18-year-old American player has played on three different NA Contenders teams in the past year, giving him a diverse resume that few can compete with. This extensive resume and Moopey’s determination to improve make him a free agent that is sure to be on the radar of many teams looking for a main tank in the near future. We’d be smart to start paying attention now.
Hello! First of all, thank you so much for taking the time to sit down and interview with me. For those who may not know you, would you mind introducing yourself and telling us one thing that you think most would be surprised to know about you?
Hey! My name’s Jeromy, or Moopey, I’m an 18-year-old competitive Overwatch player that has been participating in the last three seasons of NA Contenders as a main tank. I began competing in my junior year of high school and have continued balancing academics and Overwatch since then, recently finishing my first semester of college. One thing about me that might be surprising is that I played JV/Varsity Volleyball all throughout high school.
Before we get into your Contenders career, would you mind explaining how you got into competitive Overwatch and what your “Path to Pro” looked like in its infancy?
Alright, so I’ve been playing since official release in May 2016. I began as a flex DPS player, mostly sticking to ladder and joining a few low-tier teams. I maintained a top 500 skill rating but around Season 4 and 5, I decided my strengths were better suited on a more vocal, team leading role like main tank.
I began practicing, and the opportunity to play with Midnight Marauders (Gingerpop, Phaz, KSF, xRetzi, Midnight) came up. We didn’t play in any tournaments, but we had high-level scrims, which helped get my name out there and led to me joining Mayhem Academy.
As you just mentioned, you began in Contenders in 2018 Season 1 with Mayhem Academy. Since then, you’ve spent time on Second Wind and Skyfoxes. How did those three experiences compare to one another and how did each help you to grow and become a better player?
Great question. When I was on Mayhem Academy I was a rookie with little tournament experience. That season helped me grow and mature a lot as a player and person. Getting kicked was definitely a wake-up call that taught me that, although I was fortunate to play my first season in Contenders on an academy team, I was going to have to work a lot harder to make it back onto one. I realized that, even with my time on Mayhem Academy, I was still lacking experience and had a lot of room to grow.
This led to my decision to join Second Wind. At the time, Second Wind wasn’t doing very well in Contenders Season 2 and we didn’t manage to turn it around, but the experience itself was invaluable. The difference between academy and trials teams is pretty substantial. There’s a lot less structure and outside support. The players and staff usually have some outside responsibilities like work or school that they have to balance while competing against players whose job is to play Overwatch.
Unsigned players are largely fueled off passion and love for the game and it’s competitive scene. They are competing at a disadvantage, which as a viewer makes for a good storyline, and as a player, teaches you more about genuinely loving competing and being on a team, even without the salary.
Having been most recently on an unsigned team like Skyfoxes, can you provide any intel as to why this team has struggled to perform this year? Or, do you think things may be about to turn around for the Skyfoxes?
Playing on Skyfoxes has definitely been an interesting experience. We began this season by rolling through Contenders trials placing 2nd with the roster of Luna, Felty/Swimmer, Claris, King, Midnight, and myself. Although we proved to be a strong team, the management and coaches of Skyfoxes decided they didn’t want to pass on the opportunity to have players from OWL who had recently left their teams.
These additions, along with xRetzi and Zombs, happened only a few days/weeks before roster lock for the first game of Contenders. This means that version of the roster did not have much time to synergize. On top of the time constraints, there was also some miscommunication between the coaches and managers that resulted in me scrimming about half the time leading up to both matches, only to be told days before that I wasn’t going to play.
I believe it’s important to consistently practice with the same roster, even changes of one player can have a large effect on playstyle, communication, leadership, and other team dynamics. It’s understandable to swap one or two players at some point but to do it unnecessarily so many times mid-season takes big steps back in a team’s synergy.
I think it was easy for the staff to believe these OWL veterans would bring invaluable experience and leadership and therefore be a good roster. However, this meta of tanks and supports revolves heavily around synergy and coordination over individual skill, and that is where I think the Skyfoxes struggle. This idea can be seen in teams like Second Wind which consist of talented individuals who are friends, have great synergy, and trust each other in-game.
Skyfoxes acquired a lot of great individual talent, however, I don’t think they were properly tested as a team before being put together. It’s a shame that our trials roster didn’t get to continue to develop our synergy and carry our momentum into Contenders. I hope everyone who left finds a home on a new team.
Whether or not things will turn around for the Skyfoxes remains to be seen. Their newest roster, with my old trials teammates Claris and Luna, has a lot of potential. However, management is making even more roster swaps between main tank and support, so it’s still hard to build that crucial synergy.
On December 4th, you announced that you were stepping away from Skyfoxes to pursue new opportunities. What has this past month looked like for you and can you give us any insight as to what your next step will be?
I have decided to part ways with @SkyfoxesOW and am looking for new opportunities at the Contenders+ level. I’m very grateful for the coaching staff and teammates who have helped me improve a lot in the past few months. I look forward to my next step!
— Jrm (@moop3y) December 4, 2018
Since I’ve left Skyfoxes, I’ve continued working on my gameplay and life outside the game. I’ve had a few tryouts but I’m mostly waiting for academy tryouts to start up again. After I left Second Wind last season, I had the opportunity to trial for a decent amount of academy teams and made it to the last phase of a few of them. Even though I fell short, those tryouts (through self-review and talking to high-level coaches) helped me better identify my strengths and weaknesses which has helped guide me in the past few months. I look forward to showing how I’ve improved to those who gave me advice.
Those tryouts and my experience getting 2nd in Contenders trials have helped me become a lot more confident as a player. Even though I didn’t get to play in any of Skyfoxes Contenders matches, I was consistently scrimming with them and working on reinforcing my strengths and fixing my weaknesses. Needless to say, I’m very excited for the next wave of academy/OWL tryouts.
Past this next step, what are your long-term plans? Do you anticipate pursuing the OWL as a player or could you see yourself staying involved in the community in a different role?
For now, my long-term plans are still to pursue OWL as a player. My next step will be making it back to an academy team. As I mentioned, I feel confident in my current skill and I know that I still have room to improve. I’m more motivated and excited than ever to work under an academy/OWL structure again. I’m excited for the opportunity to show people the results of my practice.
Thanks to Moopey for taking the time to sit down and talk with me. If you’re interested, you can follow him through his Twitter as well as his Twitch channel.
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Featured Image Courtesy of @moop3y
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