ShaDowBurn talks 2-2-2 role lock, new metas, and playing Genji

Paris Eternal was the first Overwatch League team to win a game in Stage 4. The expansion team defeated the Houston Outlaws 3-1 with the new 2-2-2 role lock. 

One thing that not many expected, including Paris Eternal themselves, was an abundance of Mei. DPS specialist George “ShaDowBurn” Gushcha stuck with Mei on almost every map, which seemed to set the tone for the rest of the night’s matches. 

WIN.gg sat down with ShaDowBurn after his team’s victory to discuss how they prepared for the all-new DPS meta. 

How do you feel about your win against Houston Outlaws? 

ShaDowBurn: It feels really good. It’s finally a DPS meta so we get to play DPS characters. 

It sounds like you were waiting for that. 

Yeah, I’ve been practicing DPS during Stage 3. 

What were your strategies and thoughts going into this match? 

We had a couple of strategiess depending on the team. We didn’t focus on only one. People are still not sure what meta it will be – bunker, dive… It really depends on the map, too. We’re still trying to figure that out. 

What made you pick Mei on the first map? 

Mei is a unique hero. She’s really good against bunker and dive. We wanted to keep our strat the same. It didn’t work out, but it was just some small mistakes. 

Why is Mei so good against those compositions? 

She has really good survivability. She can dodge a lot of damage and wall off different ultimates. 

You were pretty much on Mei for the majority of the match. Did you practice Mei a lot going into Stage 4? 

Not really a lot. Teams are still trying to figure out the actual meta. Whether it’s double sniper, Orisa, hog, or dive. We also feel we may see Pharah, Genji, Sombra… It’s still not decided. We can’t tell right now. 

Despite being Mei for the majority of the match, you did bring out Hanzo for Junkertown. 

It’s been a really good double sniper map for a long time, even during the GOATS meta. It’s not surprising. It was the most common pick during Season 1. Double sniper with Orisa works really well. Especially in this meta, it may work even better. 

You’re considered one of the best Genjis in the world. But I didn’t see you pull him out at all. Do you feel like Genji still doesn’t work in a 2-2-2 role lock? 

It’s been GOATS meta for a long time. We didn’t see Genji at all. Right now, he could be played against some bunker comps. His ultimate is still consistent. But he is more for specific situations, more than previously. With Tracer, too. You can’t just pull out this hero everywhere like before. 

In Stage 3, Paris was in 12th place. Do you feel you guys will do better in Stage 4 because of 2-2-2? 

I think it will help not just us, but every team. A lot of teams were not ready to play GOATS but had individually prepared players who wanted to play DPS comps. Like Philadelphia Fusion, Guangzhou Charge… I think for us it will work out even better. 

Why is that? 

We have been preparing for it. We have great individual players on DPS and our backline is really strong. 

How did you plan for the lock once you learned of it? 

Previously we were just preparing one meta for every player. During Stage 3, we were more focused on who would play in Stage 3 and who would prepare for DPS comps to be mechanically ready for Stage 4. To be flexible and be ready to play any type of hero since we didn’t know what was going to happen. 

Does not knowing what will happen this stage excite yo,u or make you feel nervous? 

I think I’m more excited. Whatever happens, it fits me really well. If it’s dive, I can play those. Orisa, I can play those heroes. It’s more fun for me. It’s really interesting. 

Who were you playing during the previous stages, when GOATS was taking over? 

I was mostly playing Brigitte. I played a bit of Zarya but that wasn’t planned since the beginning. 

Did you like playing Brigitte?

I think it was dependent on team chemistry and team strategies. If you win, you feel really great. You want to play well with your teammates and have good structure. If it works out, it’s really fun. But losing on Brig, you don’t have much impact, indivudually speaking. 

How did you adapt to playing this role? Did being a Genji main give you any advantages over other supports?

I think only specifically against dive. You just know how enemy teams’ dive comps will play against you. And you have to learn how to protect the back line. Other than that, it was just a completely different playstyle. 

Which team are you most excited to play against this stage? 

New York Excelsior. Individually, they’re doing really well. They’re very versatile. They pulled out really strong GOATS and I think they’ll do well in DPS comps. Nobody will argue that they have always been really dominant. Something didn’t work out during playoffs, but you can see that they’re always strong and consistent. 

Now that it’s 2-2-2, do you think you can beat them? 

I think of becasue of role lock, any team can beat anyone. Even the most dominant teams can struggle a lot. They have just been practicing GOATS. They may not be as dominant mechanically and individually.