JJoNak wins Overwatch League Most Valuable Player: Highlighting ‘The JJoNak effect’

With the regular season of the Overwatch League in the books, many were questioning just which player would be deemed MVP come seasons end, and the fans as well as coaches have deliberated on Bang ‘JJoNak’ Sung-hyeon as the consensus most valuable player within the league.

With all the staple DPS threats and main Tanks dominating the league, there is no questioning the impact JJoNak has had on enemy team comps as he redefined the playmaking ability on Zenyatta and continues to be one of the most lethal Support players in the Overwatch League.

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Redefining his role

If you’ve been following the season for New York Excelsior at all, it’s apparent to see their multitude of strengths across every role. But the beauty of what makes NYXL click isn’t really the plays being made on the frontline of the action, it’s the synergy and teamwork that’s taking place on the objective that make New York and JJoNak such a force to be reckoned with.

JJoNak’s ability to aim so precise and extract kills from seemingly impossible angles has been his best attribute thus far as a supposed healing threat on the side of New York Excelsior. What his stats lack in terms of overall healing and support to the team he more than makes up for in his last hits and overall damage output as a 1v1 legend in almost every scenario.

The way in which New York Excelsior pocket JJoNak’s Zenyatta as he picks off enemy DPS threats at his own discretion is truly a fine art that only NYXL have had the ability to execute thus far.

The JJoNak effect

In fact, the ongoing trend of OWL supports attempting to pick up a hero like Zenyatta and use his kit in the same offensive manner as JJoNak, without the same results, has been a trend several OWL pundits and casters have dubbed ‘The JJoNak effect’ as other teams have struggled playing catch up to the dominant style NYXL hold.

Many professional leagues in the world across a variety of sports benefit, and ultimately thrive off of ‘copycat tactics’ that they learn from modeling their success from the best teams in their region, but the same cannot be done as of yet for the Overwatch League as JJoNak and NYXL continue to be one step ahead of their competitors.

JJoNak is by no means a one man army, but rather a steady offensive threat that is buoyed by a unique supporting cast of players around him that enable him to dish out damage and get picks that wouldn’t regularly come from a player occupying his role. That ‘wildcard’ factor of JJoNak’s play is the secret sauce that keeps enemy teams from figuring out NYXL as a whole due to the sheer amount of attention and pressure that he commands in every series he is a part of.

As he finally gets his crowning individual achievement as the best overall player in the Overwatch League for Season One, it’s imperative to honor JJoNak for the cutthroat style of play that makes him a force to be reckoned with. There’s good support players, there’s great support players, but JJoNak has proven time and again that when push comes to shove, he will always be the one on top.