The Paris Eternal was the first team to announce their official roster last October. Since the announcement, fans are divided when it comes to the expectations of the team. Half of the community thinks the lineup is stacked while the other feels that people are over-hyping them. The latter seems to believe that Paris will turn out like the Dallas Fuel, who went 12-28 last season. The Fuel, built off the bones of the old EnvyUs roster, was expected to be one of the stronger competitors. Unfortunately, the Fuel faced a lot of inner turmoil and had a rough season overall. While they did manage to turn things around during stage four, it is anyone’s guess how they will perform next season.
Predicting that Paris will turn out to be a similar dumpster fire because of the hype surrounding its players is unfair. While we do not know most of the rosters for the remaining expansion teams, so far Paris seems the most stacked. They have three seasoned Overwatch League players standing alongside promising talent from the Contenders scenes. While this might not secure them a spot in the season two finals, this will give them an advantage over the other expansion teams.
Joining flex player Finnbjörn “Finnsi” Jónasson, Terrence “SoOn” Tarlier and George “ShaDowBurn” Gushcha are making a return to the Overwatch League. Finnsi did not have any playing time while he was on the Los Angeles Valiant, so it is too soon to make any predictions regarding how he will do on Paris. However, SoOn and ShaDowBurn are predicted to be the starting DPS duo for Paris next spring.
SoOn made waves last season, making a name for himself as one of the best Widowmakers in the league. His departure is an incredible loss for the Valiant, but he will be a great asset to Paris next season. He is a strong leader, a great teammate and has proven to be one of the more consistent DPS players in the league. Although France did not do as well as expected during the World Cup, both SoOn and Benjamin “BenBest” Dieulafait played incredibly well during the Paris group stage. The Paris group stage showed what both SoOn, and BenBest are capable of bringing to the table. Fans have every reason to be hyped as far as SoOn is concerned.
2018-09-23 / Photo: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment
Unlike SoOn, ShaDowBurn spent the majority of season one on the bench while playing for the Philadelphia Fusion. Coming into the league as one of the best projectile DPS players out there, ShaDowBurn stopped making a regular appearance on stage in favor of Josue “Eqo“ Corona during stage two. While Eqo ended up having an overall better dynamic with the rest of the team, there was only heartbreak when ShaDowBurn was released from the Fusion earlier this summer.
A lot of the DPS responsibility will more than likely fall on ShaDowBurn and SoOn’s shoulders next season. Even though Karol “Danye” Szcześniak and Nicolas “NicoDGH” Moret are talented players, ShaDowBurn and SoOn’s experience gives them an advantage. However, relying on the pair might end up becoming Paris’s Achilles heel.
Photo courtesy of DBLTAP
While SoOn is one of the most consistent players in the league, ShaDowBurn is more hit or miss. Issues with communication have been at the forefront of ShaDowBurn’s struggles in the Overwatch League. During his streams, ShaDowBurn has shown considerable improvement at using voice comms during games. At the Incheon group stage, we saw a more talkative, confident side to the Russian. So long as ShaDowBurn continues to keep improving on his communication skills, the DPS duo should be able to become a source of strength for Paris.
The majority of Paris’s core comes from the Contenders’ scene. Harrison “Kruise” Pond is an incredible main healer. He was one of the many reasons Team UK was able to go the distance. Kruise impressed fans everywhere during the World Cup; he will be one of Paris’s greatest strengths going into season two. Alongside Kruise will be Damien “HyP” Souville, formerly of Eagle Gaming. HyP has proven himself to be a capable off-healer in EU Contenders.
BenBest is an aggressive tank main who is known for his Reinhardt play. Alongside BenBest, Finnish player Roni “LhCloudy” Tliihonen will be joining him as off-tank. Both of these tanks have shown to be incredible players. Individually, the former Contenders players bring a lot of talent to the table. Under Julien “daemoN” Ducros, Paris is entirely capable of becoming one of the most disciplined teams in the league. The hype for them is appropriate, and it will be exciting to follow them during season two.
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