Contending The Crown: Will Profit's Reign Continue In Overwatch 2?

Park "Profit" Joon-yeong is the greatest player to ever touch Overwatch. With longevity, skill, success, and flexibility in mind, no one comes close to the résumé he brings to the table. The fact of the matter is this; Profit was the archetype we measure his peers against. Now the Overwatch world stands at a crossroads; what about now? With a new season of the Overwatch League and a brand new game to adapt to, will he capitulate the crown or will his flame only burn brighter?  

Profit Has Set The Standards All Players Aspire To

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When you read the word “evergreen”, what attributes do you think it entails? Perhaps an element of durability or the ability to adapt to an ever-changing climate are good starting points. When looking specifically at an esport professional, maybe it is the inherent ability to not only persist but to flourish throughout the years as patches come and go and as formats change. Wherever your mind lands, whichever descriptors or goalposts you settle with, Profit sits there patiently waiting in that monochromatic dreamscape.  

Simply put; Profit is the torchbearer for the modern star player. Emerging from a rigid dive-centric metagame during his debut, Profit stood at the forefront with picks like Tracer and Genji in his hands and continued to prove, year on year, why he was the gold standard for DPS, illuminating to the world what it meant to be a DPS. And while it’s been years since Profit and his team have been world champions, there is something about him that feels similar. This notion of safety, knowing that no matter what comes next, what the format looks like or what heroes are popular, Profit will be there out in front. 

Can Profit Make The Same Impact On Overwatch 2?

Profit was crowned champion at the tail end of the APEX era, not once but twice. He walked immediately into the Overwatch League and stole the show alongside the London Spitfire and came just short of doing it again with Seoul Dynasty in 2020. Has there ever been a safer bet? Has a single player ever exuded that kind of confidence? Just like a defending champion’s stakes, Profit is a safe bet because he is the epitome of flexibility. He is evergreen incarnate. We’ve known for years that Profit has been ahead of, and at times shoulder to shoulder, with some of the most flexible and skilled players in the world, but there is something to be said when we look at the details of his career and add the context of Overwatch 2. 

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For example, if we inspect his sophomore season and place it next to Overwatch’s long-awaited sequel, particularly when it comes to the impact tanks may have on the game, is there any ground to stand on to assume that perhaps he might see starting time as a tank rather than just a star DPS? GOATS would like a word with any detractors because battling through a middling 16-12 season, Profit’s Zarya performed well statistically. 

• Players can now sign up for the Overwatch 2 beta - learn how to in our guide.

Profits Go Up And Down

Per the official Overwatch League Stats Lab, out of 35 ranked Zarya players during the 2019 Overwatch League season, Profit ranked 12th in final blows per ten minutes, 6th in eliminations per ten minutes, 9th in hero damage done per ten minutes, and was among the lowest (29th) in deaths per ten minutes. Past that he excelled in high performing team fight metrics as well. The average first elimination rate for a Zarya’s during the 2019 season was 10.3%, Profit was ranked 6th overall with a 12.4% first elimination rate. 

Zooming out from the numerical noise for a moment, two things are clear; Profit performed exceptionally well on Zarya during a heavy team fight based metagame, especially with the context of the London Spitfire’s overall performance, and that he was a large contributing factor in their success. While that latter seems more obvious than the sky is blue, the first eliminations, given the context of just how important every piece was during the GOATS metagame, is something the Spitfire took and ran with. 

Now, is this enough to say with any kind of certainty that Profit will unseat the likes of former two-time world champion Yoo "smurf" Myeong-hwan? It’s highly unlikely especially if traditional main tanks like Winston and Reinhardt are in vogue, but the possibility peeks in like a torch cutting through the darkness of a dank, musty cave if picks like Zarya or even D.Va are what is needed. Hypothetically speaking, if that were to happen, Seoul’s floor wouldn’t cut out underneath them because of their promotion Jeong "Stalk3r" Hak-yong. 

Having Profit, someone with the ability to be more role fluid than we give him credit for, and a young and rising star like Stalk3r means the roster itself, through its redundancy, can utilize its flexibility as we venture into the unknown. We’re not saying to bet on Profit playing tank come May 5, but if push comes to shove, the Seoul Dynasty have that card to play among the litany of options having someone like Profit presents. 

It Could Come Down To Hitscan

Take your traditional hitscan DPS. We’ve talked at length about how Overwatch 2’s changes could forge a path for the metagame to better incorporate hitscan DPS. Your immediate, knee-jerk response is to nominate Kim "FITS" Dong-eon as the spearhead to this metaphorical campaign. However, Profit has an argument when it comes to certain heroes. Take his Ashe from the 2020 Overwatch League season. According to the official Overwatch League Stats Lab, out of 24 ranked Ashe players during the 2020 Overwatch League season, Profit was ranked 1st in final blows per ten minutes, 6th in eliminations per ten minutes, 3rd in hero damage done per ten minutes, and 13th in deaths per ten minutes. And surprise, surprise, Profit was ranked the highest when it came to first eliminations on the hero. The average first elimination rate for Ashe in 2020 was 15.8%, Profit managed a 22.9% first elimination rate. 

Like an unending flame, Profit only has gotten better as time marches forward. More valuable, more opportunities to showcase who he is as a player, more chances to further cement his legacy as the greatest of all time. When the games as a question there are few that can and have responded to that call—outside of Profit. And for that, in pure, evergreen essence, there is a part of Profit that is Overwatch. 

Answering the call of a hero all those years ago.

Showcasing the power and value of flexibility.

Illuminating the fact that you’re not your last performance.

And reminding us all that you’re capable of more than you’ve shown.

There is a part of Profit that is Overwatch.

So, who would be concerned come May 5th? 

Certainly not the Seoul Dynasty.

We’ve seen him spelunk through four individual and unique caves just within the Overwatch League era, all of which he emerged relatively unscathed, each outing revealing the breadth of his skill. So, what’s one more? For the one we call “goat”, Overwatch 2 is just another notch in an already illustrious career. While many stars may now rival his lustre, Profit stands alone, torch in hand, crown gleaming. 

Long live Overwatch’s torchbearer. 

Long live Profit. 

• Overwatch 2 may be closer than we think, with those close to the game revealing that we could expect it "later this year."