Fearless talks with our very own LemonKiwi about the May Melee tournament win, his love for the beaches in Hawaii, his struggle playing against his former team, and how Overwatch 2 is going to impact the future.
Fearless. The name says it all. As the main tank for the Dallas Fuel, his effort was key to securing their first major victory in the Overwatch League with the May Melee tournament.
Fearless is no stranger to pressure, as his gamertag would imply. Before joining the Dallas Fuel, he was part of the Shanghai Dragons for most of his professional career. His last season with Shanghai was part of the 2020 Playoffs roster that ended with a 3rd place finish.
With the 2021 Season adjusting the format to accommodate for the pandemic in 2021, the Dallas Fuel seems to benefit from bringing Fearless on, and a brand new roster to support him. This roster has breathed new life into the Dallas Fuel fanbase, who admittedly had been loyal despite their performance in the first few seasons in the Overwatch League.
Esports.gg correspondent and Overwatch Contenders Caster LemonKiwi recently sat down with Fearless to ask him questions about his trip to Hawaii and of course how it felt to be a winner for the May Melee tournament.
Fearless mentioned his love for the beach, specifically Waikiki Beach, as he thought to himself “ I may never see again! It was like a set from a movie in front of your own eyes” (translated from Korean). But more than his love for the beach, winning the May Melee tournament was his best memory of the event.
Initially we didn’t really have that great of a start of the tournament . . . so we ended up getting stuck with a weak team image
Fearless talks about how meaningful the May Melee tournament was to him and his career in the Overwatch League
When asked how meaningful winning the tournament was by LemonKiwi, Fearless elaborated on his earlier point about the win being memorable. Fearless spoke with a little humility, mentioning that: “Initially we didn’t really have that great of a start of the tournament . . . so we ended up getting stuck with a weak team image". Fearless was referring to the 2-2 record in the qualifiers, and having to win twice in the knockouts just to get into the May Melee Championship bracket against strong opponents.
However, he continues by saying later in the interview that “(We) started performing really well and towards the end, we just won all of our games. I felt it was something we could do for Dallas to pay back our fans (for their support)”
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Fearless on facing Shanghai Dragons on the way to the May Melee Grand Finals
LemonKiwi asked how Fearless felt having to play against his old team, the Shanghai Dragons, just to get this May Melee win and if he had any regrets about leaving Shanghai to play for Dallas.
His response started off by mentioning “To be honest, I never imaging we’d be going against Shanghai in the opening round of the tournament. I was concerned because they are a dominant team with a lot of good players. And in the end, through hard work and perseverance, we ended up winning!”.
This would make sense for Fearless, as I’m sure he was familiar with the pedigree of the team, and he was part of their roster for the 2020 Playoffs.
Continuing about leaving Dallas for Shanghai and if there were any regrets, “After winning in the Grand Finals, I did think about the direction I took. Moving to Dallas was such a huge step. I was afraid of my old team because they are so strong! But in the end, we (Dallas) won as a team, building synergy in such a short period of time. And we beat one of the strongest teams! So I think I made the right decision.”
"Some cons to the 5v5 changes are some tanks might not be able to adjust to the new gameplay. Some of the pros might even lose their jobs! Also with just one tank, it makes the role more important, and less room for mistakes."
"Some pros might even lose their jobs!" - Fearless on Overwatch 2 changes
LemonKiwi then moved on to talking about Overwatch 2, especially with the big change from 6v6 to 5v5 and how it will affect the Overwatch League in the near future. (Read about the changes here)
Fearless mentions “I haven’t had a chance to play, so I can’t say for sure, but there are a few pros and cons that I can point out. For some pros, with only one tank, matches will be shorter. Also, supports can focus and just takes care of one tank, versus splitting their focus on two of them. Some cons to the 5v5 changes are some tanks might not be able to adjust to the new gameplay. Some of the pros might even lose their jobs! Also with just one tank, it makes the role more important, and less room for mistakes”.
When asked to elaborate if he ‘liked the changes’ Fearless replied he won’t know until he gets a chance to play. Finally, Fearless was asked about Pine "coming out of retirement" to play for the Dallas Fuel. Fearless didn’t have much to say (wanting to keep team strategies private and for good reason!), but he was excited about his return. He mentioned fans shouldn’t be concerned if he’s rusty, even though Pine has been retired for 2 seasons from the NYXL. He believes Pine will adjust and get back to his old self very soon.
Well, that about sums it up for Esports.gg interview of Fearless from the Dallas Fuel by LemonKiwi. Stay tuned for more interviews from Overwatch League Players.
