There are the obvious picks of Overwatch League players that will be amazing on Echo. The thoughts of master flexes such as Haeseong ‘Libero’ Kim, Dongjun ‘Rascal’ Kim, Jay ‘Sinatraaa’ Won, João Pedro ‘Hydration’ Goes Telles, Jongryeol ‘Saebyeolbe’ Park, and Lane ‘Surefour’ Roberts just to name a few. What about the sleeper picks? Those players who could sneakily be the best Echos but are stopped because of the category barriers. Here are the Top 5 unlikely Echo players.
Jonathan ‘Harryhook’ Tejedor Rua
Harryhook is known for his support play in the Overwatch League. If fans did not watch APEX, they might not know that he has played DPS in professional tournaments. With Harryhook back in the lineup, instead of Wonsik ‘Closer’ Jung, he is rebuilding the synergy that he has with the team. It could be a great opportunity for him to rejoin the starting line up but on Echo. Guiun ‘Decay’ Jang and Dongha ‘Doha’ Kim are two powerhouse DPS, but what Harryhook brings is knowledge and playtime of multiple categories of heroes. This brings into question for Echo’s ult is it is better to be proficient in most or master of a few. If the Dallas Fuel wanted to shake things up and surprise other teams, Harryhook on DPS could be just what they need.
Jehong ‘Ryujehong’ Ryu
The running joke from Season 1 is RyujeKong when he hopped on the Main Tank role-playing Winston. Ryujehong might be best known in the Overwatch community for his support play, but his previous life in different games hasn’t always been the support role.
Back in one of the first major esports that Ryujehong was a part of, Special Forces 2, he was awarded the MVP Best Sniper award. This might be assumed through his Ana skills, but when he isn’t playing Overwatch (or Maplestory) on stream his FPS background pops off. He immediately picks games up like APEX Legends, PUBG, COD, CS:GO, etc. His best friend Injae ‘EscA’ Kim even said on stream that Ryujehong should have been a DPS or tank player.
These skills transfer over to Echo very well. His tracking for Echo’s beam, projectile like Mei’s icicle shot, and glide/jump such as Mercy or Winston gives Ryujehong a great starting base for Echo. The ultimate of Echo is where Ryujehong would shine the most being able to flex on multiple characters at a proficient level.
Jinmo ‘Tobi’ Yang
What Ryujehong can do, so can Tobi. The main support for the Seoul Dynasty may not have as much tank time as Ryujehong, but he is definitely proficient in DPS heroes. Tobi is used to high mobility characters that allow him to shot call. Echo’s jump would provide the same information.
It the two matches that the Seoul Dynasty played Lucio was banned. Tobi, who has a very impressive Ana, took up the Baptist in a couple of the maps. This showed off his good aim. Echo could highlight skills that Tobi has, but is often overlooked as he is a main support. Tobi is one of those blood-thirsty support players, and Echo as a DPS would help him realize his full potential to light up the kill feed.
Taehong ‘Meko’ Kim
Above many of the unlikely Echo players have been support players. Here is Meko breaking that trend. Meko on previous seasons of the Overwatch League was with the NYXL. During that time he played a myriad of heroes that were off-tank, main tank, and DPS. Now on the Dallas Fuel Meko could bring his knowledge of all three to Echo. In the show match against that the Seoul Dynasty and the San Francisco Shock played, many players Echo transform ulted into a tank. There were many tank ultimates that were put straight into Rein shields. Knowledge of main tank abilities, meta of shield mind wars, and ultimate would put a player in a better spot playing Echo. That is something that Meko already possesses and could use against other teams’ who Echo players are not as well versed in the main tank ultimates.
Youngseo ‘Kariv’ Park
The Overwatch community remembers when Kariv was on the LA Valiant and Coach Moon put him on DPS. That is when fans realized that Kariv was not just an amazing support player, but he had the chops to stand up against the best DPS players in the league. On many Twitch streams Kariv has hopped on a random deathmatch against Scott ‘Custa’ Kennedy. Kariv could retake up the helm of DPS on the Toronto Defiant to play Echo alongside another master flex of Surefour.
Kariv’s knowledge of other hero’s abilities could come in handy with Echo’s ult utilizing different heroes’ abilities and ultimate.
Unlikely Echo Players
Realistically there is a low chance of any of these players being able to jump on Echo in professional matches. Hopefully, the community will get to see all these players play Echo on stream. Flex supports and flex tanks who have had the exposure of playing out of category heroes could be a big plus when it comes to Echo’s ult. Who else could be an unlikely Echo player in the Overwatch League? Leave a comment with additional players that may have been missed.
Follow The Game Haus for more sports and esports coverage:
Twitter: TGH Esports
Facebook: The Game Haus
For more high-quality esports analysis and memes, check out Lauren’s Twitter, @Daebakowl
“From Our Haus to Yours”