Veteran DPS player and league legend Kwon “Striker” Nam-joo has returned to the Boston Uprising for the 2022 Overwatch League season. After retiring from the Overwatch League in June 2021, he announced his aims to return for 2022 on Twitter. After many rumors throughout the 2021-22 offseason, Striker has returned to the team that signed him for the inaugural season.
Back where it all began.
Welcome home, @STRIKER_OW! pic.twitter.com/D0YyJMfWRm
— Boston Uprising (@BostonUprising) October 26, 2021
Striker’s path back to the Uprising
Striker started his Overwatch League career on the Boston Uprising, as a prospect from the Korean Contenders team ROX Orcas. However, early in the season, this unknown prospect became one of the most clutch players in the league. To this day, Striker holds some of the most impressive records from his first season. One of the stats that surprises most is the “Fleta Deadlift.” This term is used for getting half or more of a team’s final blows on a map, and it is topped by Striker. In that inaugural season, he had seven different Fleta Deadlifts; most of them on Map 5’s. When the Boston Uprising finished at third place in the standings, Striker was the best player on the team.
As the Uprising changed for 2019, Striker made a big move over to the San Francisco Shock. After integrating Striker into an improving core, the Shock started their dynasty. Then, they won back-to-back championships with Striker playing a key role as the hitscan or Tracer specialist. It started off great going into the 2021 season, but his final season with the Shock ended abruptly. He retired mid-season, on the same day Lee “ANS” Seon-chang returned to the team. Fans wondered why the sudden retirement happened but, as the season progressed, Striker announced his aim to return to the league on Twitter. Now, he’s back on the original team that scouted him out and developed him into the star player he is.
Boston’s future
So far, the Boston Uprising’s offseason has been relatively quiet. They kept their flex DPS Kim “Valentine” Byeong-ju, their main support Kim “Faith” Hong-gyu and their off-tank Leyton “Punk” Gilchrist from the 2021 season. Their first major signing of the offseason was Canadian main support William “Crimzo” Hernandez to solidify the backline.
Now, adding Striker to their roster reveals a strong DPS duo for the future. With all the veteran players in free agency this offseason, Striker is the best in terms of skill and results. Picking Striker up improves this Boston Uprising roster dramatically and gives them a possible starting five for next year. With how Striker brought Boston to the best results in the franchise’s history, this signing gives him the opportunity to do it again in Overwatch 2.
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