Why is having big personalities like Ethan ‘’Stratus’’ Yankel, Park ‘’Saebyeolbe’’ Jongryeol, Kim ‘’Pine’’ Dohyun and Lane ‘’Surefour’’ Roberts important? Even when their teams might be losing games, these players have been attracting fans left and right due to their on and off-screen personality. Everyone knows about SBB being the ”Married Man Meta.” Pine is well known as ”Big Boss Pine” while he dabs on screen. With Stratus being one of the OG players of the Justice, he established that he was a big personality not only within his team but mostly with the fans. His quirky and funny walkouts, reactions after a map or game win or even something as simple as wearing sunglasses. This made him and his team loveable and easy to stick with through all the hardships, thus gathering a large fanbase. See what he brings to not only the Justice, but also the Overwatch League and community as a whole.
https://t.co/vZpiWDmanJ
They have a whip and they have a nae nae@StratusEclipse and @Corey_OW pic.twitter.com/7jjEQMwBCa— 바나나쿠키 (@bananakuki_ow) May 8, 2020
PMA – Positive Mental Attitude
The Washington Justice struggled for the first three stages in the 2019 season of the Overwatch League and Stratus didn’t tweet out as much, as he does now. He needed time to grow and develop into the personality he is today. Compared to the Stratus fans saw at the beginning of the 2019 season he grew and showed the fans more PMA than arguably anyone else in the league. Either in the form of funny or positive tweets, being goofy on stream with or without his teammates, or by simply engaging with fans while walking out to the stage. It is known to the fans that Korean players, not just on the Washington Justice but in OWL in general, can be very hard on themselves when they lose or even sometimes when they have won a match. Always wanting to improve themselves and show the fans they are worth rooting for. Stratus shows that it is okay to feel sad that the team lost. Through PMA Stratus has shown to himself, his teammates and the fans that it is okay to feel this way. But more importantly, he has shown that they should be celebrating when victorious. Even though they might feel like they had shortcomings in the game, it helps them to achieve the PMA all players deserve to have. This shows his growth over the 2019 and 2020 Seasons.
FRICK MAN
the best I did with emp was holding it on HLC LMAO. ggs to @NYXL though, that was a fun set— Stratus (@StratusEclipse) March 8, 2020
From player to a content creator
His personality makes him a good example for someone who is a perfect fit for content creation. One can see this not only through his personal growth but also the growth of his teammates around him. How they interact with each other on stage to keep the PMA going in between maps whether they are losing or not. Stratus developed a nose for knowing his memes and reactions. Which, as a content creator is an important part of their job. It shows how he is up-to-date with the latest trends. Stratus can also make a memeable moment by himself by wearing sunglasses which lead to the rest of his teammates wearing them too. If all the players were only playing for the ”play to win” aspect it would most likely attract fewer fans, but with having a player like Stratus it makes it easier for fans to stick around even if a team is struggling. This shows that the OWL is not just about the game itself but also about who the players are as a person, both on and off-screen. Having the knowledge and feel for creating funny content is something one has to learn or have innately, this is something Stratus definitely did over the past two seasons. Having someone without the knowledge of memes or the feel about what fans want to see of a team, makes it difficult for a content creator to think up the right things. It, of course, helps if the person making the content is liked by the community.
To sum it all up
Stratus grew a lot personality-wise, going from a person who didn’t express himself much to someone who went around and posted positive tweets and showed positive thoughts even when his team lost. He knows how to entertain and capture fans both on and off stage. He knows how and when to use his memes. But most important of all Stratus knew how to make his teammates smile.
https://t.co/ssA7KvixCa#Stratus #스트라투스 pic.twitter.com/kOxZeVTQko
— 바나나쿠키 (@bananakuki_ow) May 8, 2020
Best of luck to Stratus in the next part of his career. Hopefully, he will continue to be a positive person not only for his team but for the Overwatch League community as a whole.
Follow daekukii on Twitter: @daekukii for more OWL content!
Follow us on Twitter: TGH Esports and Facebook: The Game Haus for more sports and esports coverage.
Want to show off how much you like TGH? Check out our merch shop here!
“From Our Haus to Yours”