MVP as Korean esports organization has stood the test of time and done so by their own rules. Bullish on new esports, they’ve always been quick to act on new titles and Overwatch was no different. For instance, they even have a PUBG squad that has been competing since late last year. However, what’s odd is while their positive track record of scouting world-class teams and players is next to none, in Overwatch they’ve struggled to get their feet off the ground. Through their uncertainty in the space, the kingmakers of Korean esports look to knight a new team under their cavalcade of historically strong teams. MVP, as an organization, has produced teams like MVP Ozone, who made up the core of the 2014 World Championship League of Legends team, Samsung White. MVP Black, a world-class Heroes of the Storm team who’s “Black Era” saw them with a 41 game win streak and numerous premier titles. They’ve been home to numerous world-class StarCraft 2 players, like DongRaeGu, Genius, Noblesse, Sniper, and Dream. They also were formidable in the GOMTV StarCraft 2 Team League, the GSTL, winning the first season in 2011 and taking home a handful of second places throughout 2012 and 2013. And you cannot forget about MVP Phoenix, the first Korean Dota 2 team to be featured at the International. MVP has been a stepping stone for many people in the Korean esports community, even Dallas Fuel’s player-manager Kim "viOLet" Dong Hwan, who began playing Starcraft 2 with the team in 2011. While the organization has not produced a solid Overwatch team, they have moved up a handful of players many fans will be familiar with - names like Kim "KuKi" Dae-kuk, Jung "Closer" Won-sik, Chon "Ado" Gi-hyeon, and coach Kim "nuGget" Yo-han who now coaches for the Seoul Dynasty. It’s safe to say MVP Space, their leading Overwatch team, are familiar with the impressive, yet the intimidating task of playing for such a prestigious organization. But to say that feeling will light a fire in their bellies is questionable at best. The sword that dangles above them is gilded with silver and gold, but they consistently maintain a place at the bottom of the standings. During APEX Season 1 they fell down to the promotion tournament without winning a single map. Once the Super Week promotion tournament began, they still only managed to score a single map win against the likes of Afreeca Freecs Red, LW Red, and RunAway. These relegation tournaments would be the only weeks that MVP Space and their sister team, MVP Infinity, would participate in the same events. However, MVP Infinity would find success playing in Group B and would be promoted through to APEX Season 2 over Mighty AOD and Rhinos Gaming Titan, leaving MVP Space to play in APEX Challengers. With the ever so slight improvement of four map wins during APEX Season 2, MVP Infinity would be sent down to the promotion tournament nonetheless. There, it would be Space that would reign victorious directly over Infinity, beating them in Group B, 3-0. After cannibalizing their own sister team, MVP Space would finally dodge the relegation tournament by way of drawing Flash Lux, the weakest team in APEX at the time, in their group. That leads us into Season 4, where MVP Space continued their slow upward trajectory, taking two match wins and would again dodge Super Week and keep their slot in APEX. Sadly, this would be the last season of OGN’s APEX and MVP Space would have to fight through Contenders Trials to secure a seed in the first season of Contenders Korea. With these details in mind, it is clear that time has not been kind to MVP Space. One large reason why MVP Space has found any success at all is due to their freedom to be creative. If you watch an MVP Space game, you can bet on seeing some oddball strategy come out - anything from a triple tank with Bastion composition on King’s Row to single tank Zarya supported by a Brigitte featuring Doomfist, Pharah, and McCree on Control Center. Are they just a level above in terms of devising a counter strategy? It’s hard to say, but nonetheless, MVP Space plays with a certain air of freedom. The same hands that crafted such legendary teams have been forging away at the Overwatch scene for the past year and a half with little to no success. All of their creations in Overwatch have all been painfully mediocre, barely being able to maintain a position in both OGN’s Overwatch APEX and now in Overwatch Contenders Korea. However, it is the iteration of MVP Space that is maintaining a confident stride as they make their way through Contenders Trials at the moment that has me revisiting the organization's triumphant tale. Placing in the bottom four of their Contenders group has landed them in Contenders Trials, where they will fight for their spot to compete in the Overwatch Contenders Season 2 Korea. An interesting note to add is that during the Contenders regular season, MVP Space shared a match record with O2 Aredont, the second place team last season, but had the lower map score. Subsequently, MVP Space missed out on their first playoff scenario, outside of a relegation setting, by three maps. This season their back and with a fresh and talented roster. Kim "Yaki" Jun-ki is MVP Space alumni who joined the team after their disappointments run through APEX Season 2. He has always been a shining light for this team and was instrumental in their upset over Lunatic-Hai in APEX Season 4. Not only is he quite proficient with most projectile heroes, his most played character is Tracer, a hitscan hero. This just shows you how wide his hero pool is and in a constantly moving ecosystem, it pays to have a wide hero pool over a tall one. Hailing from teams like Afreeca Freecs and KNC Vmax, Nam "Attune" Ki-hoon has been a solid DPS player that has floated in the amateur scene for a long time. What makes players like Yaki and Attune really interesting is the fact that their numbers might be statistically average, but on the server, they are standout players on mediocre teams. Now, am I saying that either of these players will continue down the same path that someone like Fleta or Architect has? That’s hard to say for sure, but it is important to note that given different circumstances, you could see these players have a massive uptick in performance. That being said, Attune is the hitscan shadow to Yaki. While Yaki mainly players Tracer, but finds the most success when he flexes to projectile heroes, Attune does both fairly well, while leaning towards a specializing in hitscan characters. While both of the DPS players can be quiet at times, a great of example of their potential comes from their series with GC Busan Wave in Contenders Trials. Both of them equally have their moments in the sun where they look like top-tier talent, but at times look a bit weak and even lost at times. Drawing direct examples from the game against GC Busan Wave, Yaki had moments on Pharah that were stellar, as did Attune on Widowmaker, but the issue is consistency. Can they find equilibrium in their performances come Contenders Season 2 and make a run at the playoffs? Now, with MVP’s track record in Overwatch, is there any evidence that Space is going to win their next season of Overwatch Contenders Korea? No, not at all, but when you look at last season's miracle run by O2 Ardeont, you’ve got to start to question the notion of what teams are capable of in this ecosystem in the post-APEX era. Many of the top teams and players have all embarked on the great Overwatch League exodus, leaving the amateur divisions left to fill in the blanks. And with the upcoming announcements of potentially 4-6 expansion teams for the second season of the Overwatch League, it’s safe to say that more South Korean natives will be joining the league’s ranks. Switching gears, if we look at their track record historically throughout esports, playing under MVP has been a very lucrative career move. Think about it like this: if MVP were a university, they would have a fabulous esports program that has a positive track record of fostering young talent and promoting them to become champions. MVP Space has a lot going for them. They’ve got young talent, a functioning support system, and a history of providing a world-class platform to show your skills. What they’ve done so far has been smart; they’ve taken a core of players—namely Yaki, Oberon, Fuze, Undine, BiaNca—and are building around them to help facilitate them to perform up to their ability. With their acquisition of young talent like Peterpan and Named, I’ve got my eye on MVP Space to see exactly how they perform in a new environment with some of the best talents outside of the Overwatch League. Is this the roster that will leave the kingmaker’s mark on Overwatch? Only time will tell.

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Joseph “Volamel” Franco has followed esports since the MLGs of 2006. He started out primarily following Starcraft 2, Halo 3, and Super Smash Bros. Melee. He has transitioned from viewer to journalist and writes freelance primarily about Overwatch and League of Legends. If you would like to know more or follow his thoughts on esports you can follow him at @Volamel. Images courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment.