Striker talks pressure of OWL Grand Finals, how to beat Titans
The Season 2 OWL Grand Final is happening in Philadelphia, and the San Francisco Shock will take on the Vancouver Titans to see who will take home the trophy this year. The match will take place on September 29.
WIN.gg caught up with Shock DPS Namju “Striker” Gwon to discuss everything Grand Finals and how he feels about the current Overwatch League meta.
What does playing in the Grand Finals mean to you?
Striker:
Multiple feelings, I’m excited, but I really want to do the match right now. I’m a little bit nervous.
Does all the anticipation get to you?
When you’re a school student, you’re always waiting for lunch. It feels like that, like I’m waiting for a break for lunch.
You had an accident a little while back. How are you healing?
I didn’t get injured in my right hand so it’s fine. My left hand got injured, but it’s little so it can move fine. It moves well enough.
What happened?
I was learning how to skateboard. It was my first time and I fell.
What do you think is your biggest challenge playing the Titans on Sunday?
They have fast tempo. If we can be faster than them, we can win.
Is there anything you do to deal with the pressure of a game this big?
I feel the pressure myself, but I believe in my teammates, so when I’m playing with my teammates I don’t feel as much pressure.
Do you feel the meta shift helped you to gain this momentum to get you to the Grand Finals?
I think that the meta change helps, and we also lost to Atlanta, which helped us understand the meta really well. So, it helped us to keep winning in the loser’s bracket.
You have a lot of support from Philadelphia OWL fans. Does that make you feel any less pressure going into Grand Finals?
Actually, it helps a lot because the fans are cheering for us. It makes me really happy. And for our opposing team, it makes them feel more pressure.
You’ve said before that you don’t like playing Bastion, but do you feel the character plays an integral role in your success in this meta?
Yeah, and I’m practicing [Bastion], so it could be the key for winning.
What’s your prediction for the OWL Season 2 Grand Finals?
All of the staff and the players in the OWL worked really hard and they made a goal for finals and we reached that goal, so we’re gonna try harder, and we’re gonna win.
Read Also
Twitch
After a Self-Nomination, Could iShowSpeed Be a Surprise Grammy Winner?
Khizar Mundia
Darren “iShowSpeed” Watkins Jr. has nominated himself in several Grammy categories, and fans are speculating whether the wildcard entrant has a chance of winning against more established artists. 2026 is a major year for iShowSpeed, as the YouTuber ended 2025 with his Africa IRL tour ongoing, then toured the Caribbean, and ultimately did FIFA World Cup livestreams. He partnered with FIFA, YouTube, and Fox, and performed at the World Cup. ...
Kick
Eddie Craven Discusses Kick Viewer Rewards
Khizar Mundia
Kick has established itself as one of the leading livestreaming platforms, and co-founder Eddie Craven has revealed why they don’t pay viewers, whilst also discussing viewer rewards for watching streams. Adin Ross had publicly claimed that the platform may start rewarding its viewers with cash incentives for watching livestreams. This seemed to be a good way to attract viewers at the time, but Eddie Craven has revealed why this could ...
News
Can We Expect Another GTA 6 Trailer This Month?
Hannan Mundia
Rockstar Games is currently on everyone’s mind with GTA 6’s release date being so close. However, the studio has been somewhat lax when it comes to trailers this year, having released only one proper extended look for fans. Still, that single trailer was enough to break records and build up insane hype on social media. Since GTA 6 is slated to come out on November 19, the looming question is ...
News
Breaking: Esports and Crypto Prediction Market Forkast.gg to Shut Down
Ben Boland
Forkast.gg, an innovative prediction market platform focused on esports and crypto, has announced it will shut down on November 9. The website will remain accessible until then, but all predictions scheduled to resolve after that date will be cancelled. Forkast.gg has put a banner up on their website to indicate that the site will shut down in four weeks. The prediction market website will remain in use until then. However, ...
Movies & TV
Will The Batman Part II Be Delayed Again?
Zachary Roberts
The Batman: Part II has already been delayed three times. It was supposed to come out this month, actually. Three delays later, though, and it's on the slate for February 2028, which would be almost six years to the month after the first movie. Is it going to be delayed again? Movie fans live in fear of that very thing in these uncertain times. Any piece of art, including video ...
Kick
Nigerian Musician Davido Joins Kick: Here’s What We Know
Khizar Mundia
Afrobeats star David “Davido” Adedeji Adeleke has joined livestreaming platform Kick and expressed his intention to begin a new part of his career. Kick has previously revealed that the platform has stepped back from signing streamers with large deals and also stopped encouraging gambling content. Both announcements were met with widely positive reactions, as there was much criticism regarding casino streaming and many people believed huge deals led to streamers ...
Dota 2
BLAST SLAM VIII Finals predictions and preview
Michael Hassall
It’s been a long road, but after a strangely-formatted group stage, and a decidedly anticlimactic playoffs, we’re down to the final three teams in BLAST SLAM VIII. The finals are today (Oct. 11) and we’ll see the premier teams in Dota 2 clash. Perhaps disappointingly, we’re not seeing a new wave of top-teams at the pinnacle of Dota 2 competition, with the three final teams being the same trio we’ve ...
