Los Angeles Valiant: Player Profiles – Tanks

Los Angeles Valiant, one of the teams currently representing the City of Angels. After a very dominant Inaugural Season that ended with a match record of 27-13, a loss in the first match of 2019’s Season was definitely a surprise.

To get to know their players better, this series of articles is here to provide a little more story to their days before the League. Previously, the Valiant’s DPS players took the spotlight. Now, it’s time for their tanks to shine.

Fate

Courtesy of Overwatch League

Name: Pan-Seung “Fate” Koo

Birthday: ——

Country: South Korea

Jersey Number: 1

Twitter: @Fate_ow

Twitch: fate_ow

His preferred Hero pool is composed of Reinhardt, Winston, Orisa, and Wrecking Ball. He has been part of the Valiant since before the start of the Inaugural Season’s preseason.

Fate does not have a very broad history when it comes to competitive Overwatch teams, as he did not move very much. His entry into the professional scene was made with team Mighty AOD, where he stayed for seven months. In this time he participated in a large number of tournaments – including majors, minors, and even qualifiers and weeklies. He played in Nexus Cup 2016 and 2017 as well as Overwatch APEX Season 3 to give an example. Results were varied across his time in the team. Some of them, like both Nexus Cup qualifiers, were finished between first and second place.

With Overwatch League getting closer and closer, Fate decided it was time for him to change team if he wanted to be a part of this dream in the future. He got signed by Immortals, and with them, his place in Overwatch Contenders was secured. His first round of qualifiers for the competition did not go great, but on their run on the second qualifier, they managed to secure first place. They held that momentum strong and went on to get first place on Contenders Season 0: North America. In Season 1, however, the result was very different as they ended up scoring sixth place. This had no effect on the final result though, as the entire team got picked up by the Valiant for Overwatch League’s Inaugural Season.

Highlights:

Fissure vs Fate vs Gesture – Gods of Winston 😱 | Overwatch Moments

SPACE

Courtesy of Overwatch League

Name: Indy “SPACE” Halpern

Birthday: March 28, 2000 (18 years old)

Country: United States

Jersey Number: 16

Twitter: @SPACEOW

Twitch: space

The team’s specialty off-tank. His preferred Hero pool consists of D.Va, Roadhog, and Zarya. He joined the LA Valiant as part of their original roster before Overwatch League began, but stayed on the bench until Stage 2 due to being under 18 years old.

He wasn’t a very big fan of Overwatch when the game launched, only playing it casually from time to time. Until season 2 of ranked, he started getting more serious but wasn’t until hitting Grandmaster that he realized that he was actually good at the game.

His entry into the esports scene was made with Late Bloomers, a team that he made with his friend MrSquishee. Their life in this team was short, they participated in a couple qualifiers before they moved over to You guys get paid?. With his new squad he gained a lot of experience in the professional scene. He participated in a lot of weekly tournaments like Rivalcade and major tournaments like Overwatch Pit Championship and Overwatch Rumble.

Thanks to the amount of exposure he was getting, he was approached by player Felix “xQc” Lengyel and was asked to join team YIKES!, which evolved into Arc 6. All of this was happening as Overwatch League was getting closer, so at the same time, he was also playing on Cloud 9 in Contenders Season 1.

Thanks to his results with Cloud 9 on their fourth-place finish in Contenders Season 1 and with Arc 6 on their third-place finish on BEAT Invitational Season 2, he had the capabilities and experience that the LA Valiant required to sign him.

Highlights:

Space – INSANE RANK 1 OFF TANK NA – Overwatch Montage

KuKi

Courtesy of Overwatch League

Name: Dae-kuk “KuKi” Kim

Birthday: July 13, 1991 (27 years old)

Country: South Korea

Jersey Number: 11

Twitter: @KukiOW

Twitch: ow_kuki

His preferred Hero pool consists of Winston, Reinhardt, Orisa, and Lucio. He joined the LA Valiant after the Inaugural Season ended after he was transferred from Seoul Dynasty.

Even though he was not encouraged by his family to pursue a career in professional gaming, he never gave up on his dream. He was pressured to re-enroll into university multiple times, but through patience and sacrifice, he gained the support of his parents and is now playing on a world-class stage.

His career in professional Overwatch has been very steady. He was part of team MVP Space for over a year. With this team, he participated in a wide array of tournaments and competitions. From minors like the Nexus Cup and the DouyuTV NGA Cup to major tournaments like APEX season 1, 3, and 4. Even though his results weren’t the best, his scrims with the Seoul Dynasty went flawlessly, and he managed to clutch a spot in the team.

Highlights:

None available

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