Overwatch League Expansion Team Profile: Paris Eternal

THE SQUAD

SoOn (Terence Tarlier)

• Nationality: France
• Role: DPS
• Teams
  • Team France 2017-18
  • LA Valiant
  • Rogue (Pre-OWL)
• Veteran DPS that has always been on top-tier teams

ShaDowBurn (George Gushcha)

• Nationality: Russia
• Role: DPS
• Teams
  • Team Russia 2016-18
  • Philadelphia Fusion
  • FaZe Clan (Contenders)
• Former TF2 pro
• Considered one of the best Genji players in the world

NiCOgdh (Micolas Moret)

• Nationality: France
• Role: DPS
• Teams
  • Team France 2017-18
  • Eagle Gaming (Contenders)
  • Rogue (Pre-OWL)
• Former TF2 pro – banned for script abuse (false)

Danye (Karol Szczesniak)

• Nationality: Poland
• Role: DPS
• Teams
  • Team Poland 2017-18
  • Copenhagen Flames (Contenders)
  • Bazooka Puppiez (Contenders)
• Name in Minors league, played 2 contenders’ seasons

Finnsi (Finnbjorn Jonasson)

• Nationality: Iceland
• Role: Flex
• Teams
  • LA Valiant
  • Movistar Riders (Pre-OWL)

LhCloudy (Roni Tiihonen)*

• Nationality: Finland
• Role: Tank
• Teams
  • Mayhem Academy
  • Team Gigantti (Contenders)
  • ENCE (Pre-OWL)
• Not much is known, so Finnsi may be starting off-tank over him

BenBest (Benjamin Dieulafait)

• Nationality: France
• Role: Tank
• Teams
  • Team France 2018
  • Young & Beautiful (Contenders)
  • GamersOrigin (Minor)
• Known as an outstanding main tank in Minor League

HyP (Damien Souville)

• Nationality: France
• Role: Support
• Teams
  • Eagle Gaming (contenders)
  • GamersOrigin (minor)

Kruise (Harrison Pond)

• Nationality: United Kingdom
• Role: Support
• Teams
  • Team UK 2016-18
  • Toronto Esports (contenders)
  • EUnited (Pre-OWL)
• Popular content creator
  

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POTENTIAL

Not only is this squad full of talent, but there will be strong synergy between all the former teammates. soOn and Finnsi are coming from Valiant, NiCO and HyP from Eagle Gaming, and soOn and NiCO played together on the famous Rogue that invented the “dive” composition, before Overwatch League took over the professional scene. Most importantly soOn, BenBest, NiCO, and HyP are all Frenchmen, the first three having been on Team France together for the Overwatch World Cup. Something of note is that because all the players are European, their language and cultural barriers are minimal. This will make in-game communication much easier than the more diverse teams. Comms are essential to a team game like Overwatch, so this will give Eternal a leg-up on other expansion teams’ growth. Eternal may have a rough start because the team is mostly comprised of players without experience in Overwatch League. However, once those players that came from Contenders close that gap, they will prove the excellence of Tier 2 professional Overwatch.

HYPE VIDEO:

Europe, we heard you.

This is Paris.

This is your #OWL2019 team. pic.twitter.com/YvKCWqBM76

— Vegas Eternal (@VegasEternal) November 8, 2018

Paris Eternal Part 2: By Olivia Mingram

Thursday, November 8^th, we got up-close and personal with one of the 8 expansion as the name and branding for the French team was announced at a public event.

The team’s official colours are blue, burgundy, white and gold. The logo is the Gallic rooster, an unofficial national symbol of France, with an infinity sign forming the body and tail feathers. All these things come together to represent the team: Paris Eternal.

When asked about the logo, head coach Julien “Daemon” Ducros commented, “I really like it, I think it’s looking really professional.”

Along with Ducros, many involved with the Paris Eternal participated in the event. Even the Overwatch League Commissioner, Nate Nanzer, made a special appearance. Nanzer stated that,

“It’s really exciting to bring another Overwatch League team to Europe. From the first moment we met with Drew [McCourt, the owner of the of Paris Eternal] and his team, we were blown away with the plan they had […] They’re gonna build an incredible team here in Paris.”

Along with this, Nanzer announced that they are looking forward to adding earlier Sunday game times. He joked that this means French fans no longer have to stay awake into the small hours of the morning to watch the matches, and the crowd responded with cheers and applause.

The roster, announced in early October, is another thing for fans to be excited about. The current roster consists of: Finnbjörn “Finnsi” Jónasson, Terence “soOn” Tarlier, George “ShaDowBurn” Gushcha, Benjamin “BenBest” Dieulafait, Damien “HyP” Souville, Nicolas “NiCOgdh” Moret, Karol “danye” Szczesniak, Harrison “Kruise” Pond and Roni “LhCloudy” Tiihonen. All of whom have made their mark in the world of competitive Overwatch.

At the end of the event, General Manager Michael De Wit had some kind parting words for the crowd:

“It feels great, this is all that matters: Paris Eternal […] Our thanking the league, our thanking Drew, but I think ultimately it’s because of you. It couldn’t happen without out you guys.”

We look forward to seeing Paris Eternal’s debut in the Overwatch League, which is set to return Feb 14^th, 2019. In the meantime, check the team out on Twitter @ParisEternal. What are your thoughts on Paris Eternal?

Image Via: Game Haus