OWL: Stalk3r Transferred to the Atlanta Reign
| Tags: Overwatch
| Author Joseph Shay
Jeong “Stalk3r” Hak-yong will be playing in the Western Division in the 2023 season of the Overwatch League.
In the first transfer of the 2023 off-season, Atlanta Reign pick up Stalk3r from the Seoul Dynasty.
2023 Atlanta Reign: Stalk3r
Brace yourselves, folks, our first official 2023 signing is here. Put your hands together for our newest DPS, Stalk3r 👏
Welcome to Atlanta @Stalk3r_OW.#ReignSupreme pic.twitter.com/x25gWhmpYa
— Atlanta Reign (@ATLReign) November 24, 2022
It's scary to check a team roster and be unable to gauge the strength of your favorite team. For the last two weeks, Atlanta Reign fans have had to stare at that mostly empty roster only containing fan favorite Tank player Xander “Hawk” Domecq, and infrequently played Support player Jun “vigilante” Kim. Now, Atlanta has much to be excited about. Stalk3r played about 1/3 of Seoul Dynasty's game time in 2022, which is significant for a player competing for a spot with Junyoung “Profit” Park and Dongeon “FITS” Kim. He is a player deserving of a starting role on a team, which is why he was such a high commodity, being picked off of the Seoul Dynasty roster as the first transfer of the off-season.
The transfer from Eastern Division to West will likely be Stalk3r's biggest obstacle. He is a Korean player coming from a Korean team, to an American run team in the other division. He will need to adapt to the way that the West creates and changes meta team compositions and play styles, as we often see that differ between regions. He has already proven that he is a very skilled mechanical player, so his success will ride on his ability to adapt.
2022 Seoul Dynasty Stalk3r
Thank you, @Stalk3r_OW
#TigerNation #SeoulDynasty pic.twitter.com/rTJ0N9DeQp— Seoul Dynasty 🐯 (@SeoulDynasty) November 24, 2022
It was previously believed that the Seoul Dynasty were going to be keeping only Profit and Stalk3r to build a new team around a DPS duo. That is obviously no longer the case. Profit will be that player that the entire team is build around, similarly to what the Toronto Defiant did with Hee-su “Heesu” Jeong. Stalk3r will be departing from the top team in the East in 2022 as a substitute player to take up a role on a rebuilding team in the West with historical success in the franchise. He leaves behind a very solid rookie season to hopefully take a forward position on the Atlanta Reign as a league veteran.
Joseph is Production Director and Writer with experience in the esports field. He has coached Overwatch teams in North American and Pacific Contenders, and has been an avid esports fan for years now. Outside of esports and media, he is a Creative Writing major based out of Virginia, USA.