Atlanta Reign's Babybay wants Widowmaker duel with Birdring

Olivia Richman Published 04/08/2019

Atlanta Reign need to win seven games to make it to the playoffs. Andrej “babybay” Francisty doesn’t want to jinx his team, but he’s pretty sure they can do it. After defeating Paris Eternal 4-0 today, there’s definitely reason to feel confident.

WIN.gg sat down with the Widowmaker specialist to find out more about his team’s strengths in the 2-2-2 meta and what it will take to make Soldier: 76 viable in professional play.

How are you feeling after your match today?

babybay: Good. We popped off.

Why do you think you guys were able to so easily dominate Paris Eternal?

I think this meta is really perfect for us. We’re able to play all the heroes that we got signed to play. It’s not GOATS anymore. We can show that we are some of the top DPS in the world.

On Hollywood, map three, Paris Eternal almost took the third point to tie up the map. As they were inching towards the point, what was going through your mind? Roadhog ended up pushing them off the point in overtime.

We already knew we won the series at that point. We had capped it at three or four minutes or something. We were already up 2-0. Even if they capped, it wouldn’t have mattered. It’d just be a tie. But we really thought they were gonna cap it, we were shocked.

The Whole Hog was a boost in that. It was pretty crazy. But we’re pretty sure they C9ed. There had to be someone who could touch that. I think they were tilted or something. Maybe just the heat of the moment.

Is there a moment you’re most proud of from the match?

I would say every single time we got into a scenario where we needed to clutch, we were able to clutch out. Anubis, the second point, in overtime. We were down three guys. We started switching heroes coming back, and we turned the point around and were able to defend it.

That last map, on Route 66, it was overtime again. It was a similar scenario. But we were able to turn it. That was really huge for us.

I saw you on a bunch of heroes, like Sombra, Widowmaker… Which hero are you most excited about playing now that it’s 2-2-2?

I was most excited to play Widow and Hanzo because I’m really, really good at those two heroes. I also played Sombra and Reaper. I would have busted out the Torbjorn, but that’s for another day. I did it last match, against the Spark.

How did that go?

Awesome. We won on Anubus. I’m the Anubis god.

Why Torbjorn?

He’s just an OP hero against certain comps. Espeically if a team runs dive. That’s when you can bust out the almighty Torb and get some hammer kills and stuff. I tried to. I didn’t get any. But I was definitely beating people down with the hammer.

The amount of Sombra in team comps has gone down. Why do you think Sombra is getting less play time in 2-2-2?

I think that the snipers can one shot her. It’s harder to sit there and farm your ult. You still do see her. But a lot of teams are running Mei, which can get her out of invisibility with a left click pretty easily.

A lot of these positions where you can run Sombra, other teams are rushing into your team with Reaper and Mei before you can get your EMP. But maybe she’ll come back. Maybe somebody like Danteh will bring her out again.

I know you’re a Soldier player. Why do you think he hasn’t been used as consistently as other DPS in Stage 4?

He’s in a garbage place. He doesn’t do enough damage. You have characters like Hanzo and Widow who can one shot people, dealing more DPS. He’s just too weak. Even McCree is better than him. Mei has more utility. He just doesn’t have a good ult and his healing station doesn’t do anything anymore. There’s no point in playing him.

What would have to change to make him viable?

It’s hard to say. If you make Soldier broken then, well, it will really just be super broken. It’s got to be hard to balance it. Orisa is basically Soldier though, so there you go. The new Orisa can move pretty fast while she shoots and she’s got more utility. All those Soldier mains out there, start maining Orisa!

You were playing a lot of Zarya during GOATS. How was that?

Honestly, I didn’t mind it. I just had a feeling it wouldn’t be like that forever. It was a temporary thing I needed to do. I made a lot of prorgress on that hero. From the first day to the last day, you could see the progression I made.

I learned how to play her at an OWL level. I was top-six in damage for those two stages.

How do you feel about the switch to the 2-2-2 role lock?

Honestly, I think a lot of people were scared. I was worried because I didn’t think this was how you should play the game. You’re suposed to be able to switch heroes.

But there’s a lot of versatility. There’s still a meta, but on DPS, they have a chance to outplay each other. Tanks can outplay each other.

GOATS was more team-based. There wasn’t anybody popping off or carrying the whole game. Now, you have Widows that can turn an entire fight around just by flanking and outsniping, outdueling another Widow. Sutff like that makes the game more fun.

Your team is currently 2-0 in Stage 4. Why do you think this is a benefit for your team?

I just think we have really good DPS players. Our tanks are really good at dive. They got more synergy from playing GOATS. I know all teams say they have best DPS players, but I think we have some really, really good players and we are able to showcase that now.

We got through the drama and BS of having to play GOATS. It was pretty stressful and boring.

Why was it stressful?

You would play the game and it would put you in a bad mood almost. We couldn’t do anything about it, and it wasn’t as fun as playing the heroes we joined the leauge to play. Going back to that, we’re doing longer days now. We do three scrim blocks a day. And we still want to do another after. I think that’s huge.

Atlanta Reign has an 11-12 record. You’re still in the running for the playoffs. How are you feeling going forward?

We’re taking it one game at a time. Our schedule, compared to last stage, is way easier. But nothing’s free.

We’re for sure going to make playoffs. We’re gonna try to go 7-0, but I’m not gonna sit here and jynx anything. Even if we can’t, we’ll be in that 7-12 range, playing for a spot in the playffs. But making top-six would be insane.

What is one team you’re looking forward to facing in Stage 4?

I want to play London Spitfire. I love Birdring as a player. He’s really good at Widow. I’d love to duel him and see how we match up. When we practice, we always talk to each other and always meme.

Me and him go way back, since Season 1. He knew I was a good Widow in North America. He’d watch my stream. He finally came to America and I’d scrim against his team. He’d tell me I’m so good and ask for my settings. Fast forward, now I’m asking him what his Widow settings are since he won Season 1 last year.

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

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