The day after finally getting their first ever win in the Overwatch League, the Washington Justice started their playoff break by acquiring yet another player from the New York Excelsior in Yeonjoon "ArK" Hong.
ArK becomes the third member of the Washington Justice to have come over from the formidable NYXL squad. He teams back up with main-tank Song “Janus” Jun-hwa and head coach Kim “WizardHyeong” Hyeong-seok who both enlisted with the Justice in the building of the new expansion team.
Today we have traded Yeonjoon "ArK" Hong to @washjustice
— NYXL (@NYXL) March 18, 2019
We thank @Arkyjun for representing NY well on and off stage, and for everything he's done for NYXL. We wish you the absolute best in your career. pic.twitter.com/smFJeqog6L
A Broken Justice System
They may only have a single win, but the Washington Justice is one of the most talented teams in the league on paper. Criticism came down on potential team chemistry issues prior to the start of the Overwatch League regular season, and the move to pick up a key player in ArK may ease the communication and clutch problems.
Overwatch is, above all else, a team game. The addition of familiar faces can only improve internal teamwork. Unlike some other teams -- looking at you, Vancouver Titans -- the Washington Justice plucked great players from different organizations from around the world. Stars in their own right, bringing together a half-dozen or more players without experience working together can be a trial. While they’ve had some time to get used to one another, it would feel like they met yesterday in comparison to the synergy built by other squads over far longer periods of time.
Noah’s ArK
Through 7 games in the regular season thus far, ArK was subbed in for Anamo in the support role only a few times, and there are some pretty easy to understand reasons why. With Overwatch League MVP Jjonak in your lineup, that means that only one other support slot is up for grabs because you can’t sub out the world’s best Zenyatta player. The other obvious reason as to why ArK has been used sparingly is that his best hero, by a longshot, is Mercy, and she’s just not a very big part of the current meta.
Thank u very much for all the NYXL fans. Another fun chance to join new @washjustice squad. Gonna try to keep up with the team. Starting from #15 is first objective. And thanks to all the NYXL teammates. Personality skills and everything was perfect. Thank u.
— ArK (@Arkyjun) March 18, 2019
It’s a strong move by the Justice to pick up ArK -- for what looks like nothing in return -- because he was being underutilized in New York, and can come in with the motivation to be a key to Washington’s future. Not to mention, he will have some (if not all) internal insights from his time as a sub on the league’s second-best team in the NYXL.
With the Overwatch League Stage 1 playoff picture now written in ink, the Washington Justice head into their break with a single (albeit epic) win, a new star support player, and so much potential to head into Stage 2 with.
