South Korea support Bang ‘JJoNak’ Sung-hyeon miraculously survived an assassination attempt with some fast footwork and incredible team support.
Nobody made a bigger impact on Season One of the Overwatch League than JJoNak. Coming in as a rookie, he established himself not only as the best Zenyatta player in the world, but also as the MVP of the entire regular season.
As well as his immense individual talent, however, JJoNak also benefitted from unusual levels of support from his team-mates in the Overwatch League. Recognizing just how powerful he could be if enabled, New York Excelsior played around JJoNak in a manner no other Zenyatta player could command.
It seems that mind-set translated to the South Korean World Cup team – which was coached by NYXL head coach Yu ‘Pavane’ Hyeon-sang – as LA Valiant support Scott ‘Custa’ Kennedy identified while reviewing games on his stream.
On King’s Row during the semi-final between South Korea and the United Kingdom, as South Korea was about to complete their offensive push, UK’s ‘MikeyA’ managed to find JJoNak isolated at the back of his team with Sombra’s EMP.
The reaction from South Korea is almost instantaneous. Sombra’s EMP should be a death sentence for Zenyatta, instantly removing the vast majority of his effective health pool, which is his shields. Instead, the South Korea players immediately turned to cover their support super star, healing and protecting him through the danger.
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As former San Francisco Shock support Daniel ‘dhaK’ Martinez identified on his own stream, however, JJoNak himself deserves some credit for his survival. Upon being hit by the EMP, JJoNak immediately responded with evasive movement that helped him avoid an immediate death.
- Read more: South Korea wins the Overwatch World Cup
Zenyatta isn’t the most mobile of heroes, but it was enough to dodge the assassination attempt and keep him alive long enough for his team’s support to matter.