From March 7, the hero ban consisting of banning one tank, one Support, two DPS each week will be active. On top of that, the 2-2-2 meta is still in play, making it harder for players to actually pick a hero from their hero pool. Meaning the players need to either pick up more heroes or make sure they pick the right players and put out the right strategy.
What does this mean for the team?
Player Burnout
While players can receive treatment for when they do feel down or out of place, this still might add more stress to the players. The need to perform even better on a hero they might not be 100% confident or familiar with. The players are all still very young. Only having four veterans on the team, while the rest of them have not been there so long might overwhelm them with these changes. With these new rules, the travel schedule and just a one week notice could possibly lead to a player burn out early on in the season.
Practice Time
Arnold Hur tweeted out his concerns for the players who are not in America having a day less to practice. This would be unfair to the teams who are in Asia. What is the League going to do about this?
Enough Time Between Matches?
With the time zones and travel schedule teams have is it fair for all teams? While some teams have 8 to 14 hour of travel ahead of them going from city to city plus the time difference and jet leg it looks like teams have even less time to prepare for their matches with the hero ban and 2-2-2 role lock. Time will only tell how this is going to affect them.
Hero pools: Sunday PST = Monday KST = 1 less day of practice for Asia (btw calling Asia the biggest esports market in the world the Pacific “East” division is kinda weird). At the very least I hope they release Sunday 12AM so we can pick up a day. Bi-weekly makes more sense imo.
— Gen.G Arnold (@arnoldwh) January 31, 2020
What Players will Benefit?
With the 2-2-2 role lock still in play and having the Hero ban on top of that, some players might benefit from these new things.
Kim ‘’Yaki’’ Jungi: DPS: Genji/Tracer/Doomfist/Hanzo/Pharah
Yaki has the most diverse DPS hero pool making him a versatile player in both defensive and offensive playstyles. With the Hero ban in play Yaki’s hero pool makes it so he will most likely be able to play most of his Heroes. If two of his heroes are banned it makes place for Sayaplayer and BQB.
Ha ‘’Sayaplayer’’ Jungwoo: Hitscan DPS – Widowmaker/McCree
Although Sayaplayer only has two main heroes in his hero pool these Hitscan heroes can be of good use in this new Hero ban and the 2-2-2 role lock. Adding Ashe to his hero pool makes him even more dangerous in a defensive role.
Lee ‘’BQB’’ Sangbum: Flex DPS: Zarya/Sombra/Hanzo
Having a Flex DPS in your team makes your team more bendable and suitable for it to make a match. If the Hero ban plays out a certain way they might need BQB to play Zarya instead of Gargoyle. This also can mean BQB can pick up more off-tank heroes next to his DPS role. Keep in mind that this can possibly add more stress. However, it might benefit the Mayhem a great deal to have BQB still in the flex role.
Koo ‘’Fate’’ Panseung: Main Tank: Winston/Reinhardt/Wrecking Ball
With the 2-2-2 role lock still in play, the Mayhem needs a versatile Main Tank player. With Fate fulfilling that role as possible adding more tank heroes to his name the Mayhem has a solid main tank player in Fate. Adding Gargoyle with his as off-tank, if the 2-2-2 meta allows it makes for a solid Tank line.
Lee ‘’Gargoyle’’ Beomjun: Off-Tank: Zarya/D.Va/Roadhog
Now here is Gargoyle as off-tank, having these three heroes in his hero pool either is a blessing or a curse. With 2-2-2 in play, it can go back to Dive or even Shield comp. Gargoyle will undoubtedly play an important part in his team.
Choi ‘’Kris’’ Junsoo: Main Support: Mercy/Zenyatta/Lucio
Kris has a solid base as Main Support. Having these three heroes makes him a versatile player. Having Zenyatta in his hero pool can also serve well if they play an offensive comp, headshotting their enemies. While Mercy and Lucio focus more on keeping the rest of the team alive.
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