Volamel
2017-03-18 11:55:39
Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to OGN APEX Overwatch League: Season 2, Round of Eight. This is the moment Overwatch fans around the world have been waiting for! Live, from the sold out OnGameNet Studios in Seoul, South Korea.
It’s time!
Fighting out of the red corner, in the orange and white trunks, we have KongDoo Panthera! Arguably one of the most heavy-handed rosters in all of Overwatch, KongDoo Panthera is fueled by their star power. KongDoo Panthera seems to be incredibly flexible when it comes to bridging the gap if another player was to underperform in-game. After ending their Season 1 performance on a high note, but missing playoffs by a small margin, KongDoo roar back in Season 2 taking first in their group and have their eyes locked in first place in their playoff group.
And their opponent, fighting out of the blue corner, in the silver and yellow trunks it is LuxuryWatch Blue! This team is the definition of electric. This team brings more personality than any other team in Korea. Not only are they dynamic out of the game, but their star power rivals that of KongDoo. They finished out of the “group of death” in second, right behind rivals; Lunatic-Hai. LuxuryWatch is undoubtedly one of the best teams in Korea, and they come into this match with confidence, style, and determination that they will make it out in first in their playoff group.
There is one small problem -- their individual star players are the ones who go to war in this set.
What happens when two titans collide in the round of eight? Who stays and who goes? It’s time for your main event of the evening; EVERMORE vs. Flow3r!
Hwang Yeon-Oh is the ace for team LuxuryWatch Blue. Formerly known as “nanohana” Yeon-Oh now has taken up the mantel as "Fl0w3R". He has an astounding number of champion at his disposal. An absolute monster on projectile DPS heroes like Phara, Genji, and Mei. Fl0w3R can also perform exceptionally well on hitscan DPS heroes like Soldier 76 and McCree.
Not only can does Fl0w3R have a “champion ocean” at his disposal, but he plays them extremely well. Hit sits well above his peers in many statistics spanning APEX Season 2’s tenure. A 67% win rate on Phara and a 66% win rate on Genji is just the tip of the iceberg when dealing with the “Prototype Weapon”; Fl0w3R.
This series was the quintessential show-stopping performance that you would expect out of an ace carry like Fl0w3R. Twice he single-handedly won the game for LuxuryWatch Blue. The first one came on Lijiang Tower, where he reflects a Graviton Sure back at KongDoo Panthera, winning them the team fight and the map.
The second reflect comes from game three of this best of five series. A small fight breaks out in the lower portion of Hanamura and Rascal attempts to bottleneck LuxuryWatch Blue with a Mei Blizzard. Fl0w3R catches wind of this and positions himself at the entrance of the chokepoint to guard against the exact play Rascal was executing.
I refer to Fl0w3R as the “Prototype Weapon” because he does have questions that surround him. When looking at his Genji statistics, he is ranked quite low for his potential level regarding his death per minute (.65 which is -3% on the average), and the time it takes to build his first ultimate (107 which is +15% on the mean). An extra twelve to thirteen seconds to build your ultimate as a star player is odd and out of place. A small tune-up and Fl0w3R 2.0 could easily be the strongest single carry in APEX Season 3.
Fl0w3R clutched every team fight he could, but alas, the team's communication and focus was agitated by our next contender whom I affectionately refer to as: “The Prince of Perfect Timing.”
Koo "EVERMORE" Kyo-Min has taken Overwatch to a new level. His Roadhog play pushes the boundaries of what analysts thought possible; this is evident when you look at his accomplishments; lead his team to a first place finish in their group, boasts an astounding 83% win rate in Season 2 of APEX alone and was the first person ever to reach 5000 SR.
Not this is not to say that EVERMORE does not have flaws -- he does, and they are bright and glaring. EVERMORE is consistent, but I can’t help but feel like that consistency would be better supported with proper positioning.
With this minor fault, we cannot gloss over the fact that he is the famed “first ever 5000 SR” player and this shows. His hook accuracy this set was god-like, no one was safe from EVERMORE’s “god hand.”
The most egregious offender that seemed always to get caught out and punished for his positioning was Gambler from team LuxuryWatch Blue. Somehow, someway Gambler would always find himself on the receiving end of the god-hand. Both on Hanamura and Eichenwalde EVERMORE would find Gambler at the perfect moment right as Resurrection is coming online.
Gambler did receive his fair share of hooks, but the most impactful display was EVERMORE’s clinical display of how to shut down Phara and Mercy. Flow3r and Gambler would choose to play the airborne duo of Phara and Mercy on the fourth map of the series, Dorado. This performance from EVERMORE was akin to Detroit Piston’s alumni, Tayshaun Prince’s world famous block onto Reggie Miller in game two of the 2004 NBA Eastern Conference Finals.
EVERMORE is the “Prince of Perfect Timing.” He constantly will heave KongDoo onto his back and spearhead a path forward, allowing his team to succeed. Without a doubt, he will continue to be a staple in the Korean Overwatch scene moving forward into the future of APEX. Against all odds, EVERMORE found a way for his team to wriggle its way back into the series and complete the reverse sweep of LuxuryWatch Blue, 3-2.
Both players had more than stellar performances on their respective heroes. EVERMORE with his elite level guard of two players at once coupled with his constant picks every single map.
Fl0w3R’s god-like reflects with Genji to turn the tide, and singlehandedly win the game for LuxuryWatch Blue. While his statistics are lackluster, Fl0w3R makes every bit of the resources given to him count.
The cards have been collected, and the judges score this bout “49:50” with your winner being none other than Hwang “Fl0w3R” Yeon-Oh!
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Yes, KongDoo won the match, but we are looking at a purely individual performances between Fl0w3R and EVERMORE. The win-loss record of the teams does not take away that this was a sit-down, shut up, all out brawl for a spot moving forward into the Semifinals. The sheer impact that Fl0w3R’s reflects had on the ensuing team fights singlehandedly would cause LuxuryWatch Blue to win maps they had no business winning. For example, KongDoo Panthera was leading Lijiang Tower was leading 1-0 moving into Control Tower. That core reflects coming out of Fl0w3R would knock the wind out of anyone's sail. LuxuryWatch would then move on to take the Lijiang Tower in convincing fashion.
Again, this same play almost won them Hanamura, but late in the second half, the communication was already deteriorating. With ten seconds left on the clock, LuxuryWatch pushes into point B and get stalled out by EVERMORE and Rascal. The fact that Fl0w3R managed to get two reflects in one series is mind boggling.
Making Esports Heaven history, “The Prototype Weapon” Hwang “Fl0w3R” Yeon-Oh takes the win over Koo "EVERMORE" Kyo-Min in stunning fashion and shows that even a prototype can trump royalty.
Written by: @Volamel
Images courtesy of OGN and Blizzard Entertainment