Striker biography, the fruit of diligence

Boston Uprising wouldn’t be an Overwatch League esports team without this legendary player.

Kwon “Striker” Nam-Joo started his career in Overwatch when a close friend told him about a new game coming out. Like all young Koreans, they rushed to the nearest internet store to try it out. Before that, Striker was absorbed in the game, playing for hours without stopping. He then began his Overwatch career as a member of ACE White, the team he played against with London Spitfire DPS player Seong “WOOHYAL” Seung-Hyun. While ACE White hasn’t achieved many promising results, Kwon has established himself as a better player.

“I realized that when I wasn’t working out, I fell back,” Striker recalls. “Since then, I’ve been training like I’m going to die tomorrow.”

Striker’s hard work quickly paid off, as he was recruited by Rox Orcas, just as the APEX Season 2 offline qualifiers were about to begin. ROX topped their group and defeated CONBOX Fever in the deciding match with a score of 2-1 to move on to APEX Challenger Season 3. Team Orcas finished their first season in the Challenger round with a mid-range finish. , just enough to continue Season 4. After a solid season in 4th place, ROX was rewarded for its persistence. When many teams disbanded, allowing the team to enter APEX Season 4.

For Kwon, he has fulfilled a dream that he has set forth since he first started playing the game. However, the road at APEX was not easy at all. ROX is in the same group as Season 4 champion GC Busan, and another strong team, LW Red. They finished the season 0-3. When asked what is the biggest difference between the Challengers and APEX arenas, Striker simply replied: “Unlike Challenger, APEX obviously has a lot of strong teams. The biggest difference is playing on stage.”

With the Overwatch League season approaching, it looks like Striker’s great journey has come to an end with OGN at APEX. However, fate arranges us in a different direction. Boston Uprising president Chris “HuK” loranger discovered Striker, bringing him in to try out the DPS position. Striker did an excellent job, landing a spot alongside other Korean talents: Kalios, Gamsu, and Neko.

Even though the roster includes players from many different teams, Kwon notes that the team’s strength lies not in their coordination, but in their ability to “observe the opponent’s play to devise tactical countermeasures.” of the opponent”. After the organization focused on developing underrated but productive members, the team kicked off the season with a narrow loss against rival NYXL, followed by a surprise win over Asia. The European Contenders army is the Flordia Mayhem.

Striker is the team’s recipe for success, thanks to Tracer’s continuous surprise attacks from behind, or the melancholy arrows from Hanzo to help teammates attack more flexible. The smooth coordination with the main tank Noh “Gamsu” Yeong-jin, allows the DPS player to go around the back and hunt for kills. He saved Boston from key situations thanks to pulse bomb clutches.

Having received a lot of love from Boston, Striker was moved by the video that city fans made to cheer on their team in the first game. “I was very impressed,” he recalls. “That is something I will always remember for the rest of my professional career. It had a huge impact on me.”

Despite finding popularity in a new country, Kwon still misses his family and friends in Korea. For many foreign players in the tournament, being away from home has had a negative effect on their body and mind. “Obviously, the biggest difficulty when moving to the US was the language barrier,” he explains. “Korean players [trong OWL] meet on a day off and eat together.”

Striker plans to get acquainted with the new land when he has free time. “I want to win the first Overwatch League,” he said confidently. “After this season, we can visit Boston. If possible, I want to thank the fans who have supported me.”

When asked if he would like to say anything more to his beloved fans, Striker laughed and immediately replied, “What I want to say to our fans is that although the team still has mistakes, we will make up for them. and work together to be the best team. Until then, please continue to support us until the end.

Boston has never had a player like Kwon Nam-Joo, but his story is all too familiar to us. An unknown player gets the chance to prove himself on the big stage. In a tournament where everyone wants to strive to be perfect, they all know that 90% of success comes from sweat and tears.