London Spitfire’s Glister – “I don’t know how to lose Widow 1v1’s”
Ever since the London Spitfire won the Inaugural Season of the Overwatch League, they’ve had a lot of expectations on their shoulders. Now, coming into 2020, they’ve released those championship players to new homes, hoping to turn a new leaf and find success with a fresh set of players. At least initially, this new roster was not expected to add up to much. London essentially filled a 12-man roster with a host of unproven rookies. Only two of their players, Sung-hyeok "Highly" Lee and Yung-hoon "Krillin" Jung, have played in the previous season of the Overwatch League.
Glister between humble and brag
Formerly of Gen.G, Glister is seen by many as a highly anticipated player and a possible contender for rookie of the year. While confronting him with this expectation, the young Korean gave a quaint response. “I personally don't think I'm that highly rated player from Contenders but thanks to the fans that may see me that way. I don't think I've shown you everything today, I still have a lot to show”.
Between showing humility on his own performance against the Excelsior, a bit of bragging could be dragged out of the prodigious talent. When asked how it felt playing against a player like Yeon-kwan “Nenne” Jeong on Widowmaker, he stated that "I don’t know how to lose Widow 1v1’s". Glister had to perform against his counterpart not just on Widowmaker but also McCree. He had played in front of large crowds in Korea, but nothing like this North American crowd. Did the explosive New York audience affect his mental game? “The crowds yelling and screaming and cheering were so much more in NA. It was a lot more fun. The crowd cheering against me made me more positive. In Korea when I was losing, I would get depressed, but here because it’s so fun and exciting to play on stage, I didn’t really have a negative mindset”.
Glister and London weren’t expected to win this match, but they proved a lot in terms of their play. London didn’t reveal too much about their coaching structure, but with the right environment, this team could find the confidence to pull of some major upsets.
Click to enlargeAgape on his new philosophy
Coming up to battle the NYXL at their own homestand is a big ask for this rookie squad, and head coach Chulyong “Agape” Kim lead the discussion with main tank Dae-Han “JMAC” Choi and off-tank Se-won “BERNAR” Shin, after their hard-fought 1-3 loss. Agape mentioned that they had not scrimmed against the XL before the homestand, but even so, the Spitfire matched New York for the most part of the first half. Offering praise to his players, Agape elaborated on some of his decision making when picking players for the roster. “When I picked JMAC and BERNAR specifically, when I picked those players, I had a high standard. They reached the level of play he [Agape] expected, but they were also hungry players and willing to just try their best no matter what”. On previous years on the Spitfire, he tried to facilitate a family environment, but now he wants to perform more like a strict father to his players.
Images courtesy of Ben Pursell for Blizzard Entertainment