The Seoul Dynasty’s Overwatch League playoff run ended at the hands of the Hangzhou Spark, and Jehong “ryujehong” Ryu delivered a heartfelt apology to the team’s fans in an exit interview.
In the first match of the loser’s bracket, the Spark and Dynasty ended their series with the Spark claiming a 4-1 victory.
For the playoffs, teams had access to the newest patch, which included new hero Sigma. It caused a fairly large shift in the meta in combination with the recent 2-2-2 role lock forcing teams to utilize different heroes from different classes. A lot of teams have adapted by playing double shield compositions. The Spark were able to conquer this new meta just in time, knocking the Dynasty out of playoffs.
ryujehong is one of the best support players in the Overwatch League. His team had high expectations going into the inaugural season before they were eliminated from playoff contention by the Philadelphia Fusion. In a run to redeem themselves, they came up short, and the emotional toll of that disappointment showed in the interview after the game.Â
The interview took place with Danny Lim, the Korean translator for the Overwatch League, just after the match ended. When handed the microphone to make his statement, ryujehong took a couple of seconds to compose himself before speaking.
“Throughout the whole season we really tried to improve ourselves and our gameplay…but we unfortunately fell short and couldn’t do that. So I deeply, deeply apologize,” ryujehong said.
The support player was brought to tears during his apology and had difficulty delivering his words. Players, casters, journalists, and fans alike chimed in on Twitter afterwards about the display of emotions.
“I think every pro player can understand getting emotional about results. Compartmentalizing is good in theory, but in practice (as I know all too well) the emotions of the moment are supreme.” Jacob “Jake” Lyon said on Twitter.
Words of support also came from Contenders caster Connor “Avast” Prince, who said that “real men cry.”
The Spark will continue on their journey to playoffs on September 12 against the Atlanta Reign.
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