The Seoul Dynasty. The name was picked in the inaugural season of the Overwatch League to signify the legacy that this team would carve out for themselves. Throughout the history of the Seoul Dynasty, there were many close calls in regional tournaments as well as the grand final. But in the end, all titles eluded them. It is not until Season 5 that the Dynasty finally live up to their name. Winning the Kickoff Clash was emotional for the Tiger Nation for many reasons.
The Players
There are some huge names on the Seoul Dynasty this year with the pick up of Myeonghwan ‘Smurf’ Yoo. Junyoung ‘Profit’ Park is the inaugural season champion and MVP as well as the APEX season 4 winner under his belt. Smurf under the San Francisco Shock had won two titles in the Overwatch League. But with the Seoul Dynasty, there had been no titles yet achieved.
Game Play
The last day of the Kickoff Clash was a test of endurance. Not only did the Seoul Dynasty need to face off against their eternal rivals the Shanghai Dragons, but then also turn around minutes later to face off against the Philadelphia Fusion. That is no easy feat. The fact that the Seoul Dynasty went to a 5 map series with each control map being three rounds pushed them to their limits. It was a clutch win on Ilios in which Profit played a huge role on Lighthouse and Ruins.
The emotions ran fast as in the ending player cams the community could see the visible reaction of Profit with even that semi-final win against the Dragons. It highlighted how much these games mean to the players. All the players work so hard to show a good performance. When they can’t or aren’t able to win, the burden is not just their own thoughts but also of letting down the fans. During this match, no one in Seoul let anyone down.
As a Team
Courtesy of the Overwatch League
The worry was on the communities mind of how tired the Seoul Dynasty players might be with such a quick turnaround. Instead, the Dynasty players came out swinging. It seemed instead of being exhausted after that long map it had re-invigorated the team, as all the players individually played out of their minds. The Fusion in no way played poorly, but Seoul had just elevated to the next level. From Smurf and Profit’s dives, Youngwan ‘Creative’ Kim’s sleeping key targets like the nano-ed Genji on Gibraltar, Junwoo ‘Vindaim’ Park bullying the Fusion’s DPS, Dongeon ‘FITS’ Kim’s clutch moment on Eichenwalde’s last point as soldier. They came together as a team of both veterans and rookies to come up with a result that no other past Seoul Dynasty roster was able to attain. To do it by beating the Dragons and the Fusion, two teams that have a strong connection to Seoul made it even sweeter.
The Star
For those who don’t know, the parent company of Seoul Dyasnty has a banner wall in their Korean headquarters. There is a banner for each of the different Gen.G teams to gain stars for their achievements. Seoul Dynasty had yet to achieve a star. Almost as important as the title win was the title itself.
GGs @ShanghaiDragons @Fusion
별 달았다!!— Fits (@Fits_ow) June 5, 2022
The star represents their success. They are now with a star on their banner for anyone who walks by to see. It was one of Jinmo ‘Tobi’ Yang’s big regrets that he had never been able to get a star on the banner. His first tournament as head coach and he has already attained this goal. This is a big moment for the team and coaches as it had been a glaring empty spot in the history of the team.
서울 다이너스티를 끝까지 응원해주신 팬분들 정말 감사합니다. 오버워치2 첫 우승으로 팬분들께 보답하네요. 이제 시작이라 생각하고 앞으로 더 열심히 하겠습니다! 별 단다 ! 🏅🐯 pic.twitter.com/TYL9ssEd3T
— 문성원 (@MMAinEsports) June 5, 2022
Kickoff Clash Champions.
It has been a long time coming. The Tiger Nation has waited patiently for this moment. The close calls, commiserating when losses happened, and hearing from other community groups that Seoul was a disappointment or couldn’t do it; all of that was worth this win. The pure happiness and joy of the players. The worst moment of a loss is to see the players beat themselves up for the loss, but on this day fans got to see the players stand tall to be proud of their achievements. Congratulations to the Seoul Dynasty and all of the staff that made this win happen!
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