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Nomy: “I want to perform my best in all my following tournaments and get myself back into the Overwatch League.”

Volamel 2018-12-31 02:39:27
  Former San Fransisco Shock player David "nomy" Lizarraga Ramirez Osmar has had one hell of a year. The kind-hearted main tank has gone from leading the charge for his team in the Overwatch League to showcasing why he made it there in the first place on the Overwatch Contenders team, First Generation. The team is preparing for their week five match against Boston Uprising Academy and nomy is laser-focused on one thing: catapulting his team to success. He’s had a taste of Overwatch’s grand stage, but his appetite for it is far from full. A veteran in his own right, nomy has been working, tooth and bone, to make his dreams a reality. Roughly two years ago, he was playing under the Immortals banner and booking his tickets to the Overwatch Winter Premiere, which he would end up winning. Nomy’s faced hurdles before and being let go from the Shock was just another hurdle he’ll undoubtedly leap over in due time. This return to form for nomy could come sooner than expect seeing how he and First Generation are already qualified for the Overwatch Contenders playoffs set to conclude sometime in January of 2019. A top-four placing or even a win coupled with his past experience could be the push he needs to return to the biggest stage in Overwatch. The Overwatch League alumni spoke with Esports Heaven about his recent stint in the amateur division of Overwatch Contenders and what his goals are leading into the new year.
Obviously, you are not with the San Fransisco Shock anymore, but that doesn’t mean that the experience wasn’t valuable. What were some of your biggest lessons learned with your experience in the Overwatch League? I learned a lot, it changed the perspective on how I see and play the game, also I learned a lot from playing with and against the best players in the world; there are no words to describe how much I was able to learn and I'm so grateful for it Motivation has been something that has been a talking point it seems like for a while and as someone who quite literally played since day one, how do you focus on improvement above all else with all the distractions that everyday life provides us? For me practicing with my teammates helps me a lot. I really like my teammates and I want them to be successful in Overwatch and their esports careers. I want to be the best teammate I can, and make sure we are successful together.       When it comes to the limitations of age in esports there seems to be some very hard and fast opinions. Do you think the way that the Overwatch League and Overwatch Contenders for that matters is structured helps to extend the age gap of professional players? Yes, the way that some of Overwatch characters are designed allows for a different set of skill set to come into play, as an example with the current GOATs meta. Instead of relying on raw mechanics, you need to have good cooldown and ult management to be successful. Of course, mechanics are still important, but decision making and cooldown and ultimate management matter a lot. Recently you and First Generation played in Jayne’s Tournament of Future Champions and you managed a very respectable 3-4th place finish. What I’d like to get your take on is the talk that hero bans may be something that the tournament is willing to test. From a player’s perspective, how do you think that would impact the game? Hero bans sound really interesting in general. I think it can make the game less stale and more dynamic. In the beginning, it will have a huge impact on the professional scene, but I'm very positive it will bring a new and different set of problems that people will dislike. Heading into the North American Contenders playoffs, what would be the ideal scenario for you and First Generation? Who would you like to pull for your first round match? The ideal scenario is being able to win Contenders and provide a good finals match. For the first-round match, I think a win vs XL2 sounds really good to me. With a close series against Fusion University and being able to take a map off of Atlanta Academy, it’s safe to say that Next Generation is not to be overlooked. You’ve played some of the strongest teams in North American Overwatch; what are some of the big points that separate the ‘good’ from the ‘great?’ I think being able to have a good core on a team is important. If you play with the same teammates, you develop team synergy and personality. I do believe if you build a nice foundation for a team; the more time that core stays and plays together, the better of a team they will be. There is no question that you're skilled at the game, but would you ever consider following someone like Avast or JAKE into the broadcasting side of esports? Would you tease the idea of being a coach at some point? Someone is going to have to build up the next generation, pun intended. Hahaha, I have been thinking about the coaching or analyst position for the future. For me, as long as I can play and prove that I have the potential and mechanical skills to play the game at a very high level I will still compete because that is what I love. With the new year quickly approaching, what are some of your personal goals you want to meet coming into 2019? I want to perform my best in all my following tournaments and get myself back into the Overwatch League.
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.
 

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