The Seoul Dynasty has, in the offseason, been producing a new series. The Beyond the game series looks at elements that take place outside of the matches. It gives the community a look at the people as well as systems that Gen.G has implemented to give their teams and upcoming players the opportunities that they deserve. Each episode focuses on a different section of the esport world. Here is a look at the first three episodes within the series.
The Start
The first episode dove into the people that are behind the scenes to support the players. Though the community every week during the seasons watches the players up on the screen, there are so many other moving parts to make sure that the players can do their job without any other worry. Not only are there many people supporting each team, but the sense that this is still new territory. The first generation of esports to now have had a lot of amazing changes, but it is still a growing industry. It was an important look into all of the staff that help make the Seoul Dynasty a successful team.
Pressures
The second episode was heavily based on the Seoul Dynasty and the pressures of society, culture, and the industry place on the players. Esports, though there are big names like Sanghyeok ‘Faker’ Lee, isn’t a perspective job that many parents would naturally accept over in South Korea. As well as the pressure of society there is the pressure that the players put on themselves to win. So many of the players want to do good for the organization, themselves, their teammates, and the fans. The job of a professional gamer is so public, as everyone can watch and critique what is done in the matches. This can put a strain on players’ mental.
What isn’t said, but seen in this episode, is the comradery that the team has. It is bittersweet as the footage was from Season 4 and many of these players are no longer on the team. But it is easy to see how the team was able to pull out so many wins in Season 4 as their chemistry looks good. The episode ended with a high note looking at the Dynasty’s match against the Hangzhou Spark when it was 2 to 2. The positive ending brought the episode the needed closure of the season.
The Reunion
The third episode had a heavy focus on Jehong ‘Ryujehong’ Ryu at the beginning. He was the leader and one of the most well-known players at the beginning of the Overwatch League. Ryujehong talked about the mental strain that the esport world and being a pro gamer can put on an individual. A huge throwback was when Jinhyuk ‘Miro’ Gong, Seokwoo ‘Wekeed’ Choi, and Jaemoo ‘Xepher’ Koo came together to talk about Season 1. All four of these players, after their Overwatch League careers, have been associated alongside Gen.G. Miro has moved on to a head coaching role but was a streamer for them, Ryujehong is a content creator for Gen.G currently, while Wekeed and Xepher work with the trainees at Gen.G.
The episode ends with community members talking about how age shouldn’t be a factor when talking about players. The suggestion that was brought up was that when Overwatch 2 comes out, how excited it would be for Ryujehong to come back into the professional play. This episode really highlighted the life span of a player in the professional video game world. Each player doesn’t have unlimited opportunities and the chance that players can have to stay in the industry after they have retired.
Beyond the Game first three episodes
These first three episodes show a huge width of esports in an elegant way. From the beginning, the series didn’t start with the obvious of the team. Instead, they showed everyone the essential backbone of the players. The Seoul Dynasty was highlighted along with their season 4 in the next episode. Then the community got to see after players are done in the Overwatch League what they decide to do. Currently, there are two more episodes out in the series. Those will be looked at in another article. To get all the information that these videos have to give, view them as they are less than 20 minutes each with English subtitles.
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