Toronto Defiant Mangachu talks about being a Torbjorn main in the OWL
Toronto Defiant hasn’t been having good results in Week 4. First they lost to the Los Angeles Gladiators. Then they fell to the Houston Outlaws. But that didn’t stop Liam “Mangachu” Campbell from having a good time.
The recently signed DPS star has finally reached his goal of being in the Overwatch League, and a few bad games won’t get him down. Hailing from Oakville, Ontario, just from Toronto, Mangachu is using this time to learn, to practice, and to improve the team’s communication and synergy.
WIN.gg sat down with Mangachu to discuss Torbjorn match-ups and how it feels to have his dreams come true.
Your first match in the OWL was two days ago, against the Gladiators. How did it feel to finally be on the Blizzard Arena stage after a long Contenders career?
Mangachu: I mean, we got rolled. But it was a good way to get stage nerves out of the way. They’re a very good team. To expect anything less than that would be a little bit rude to them. I wasn’t too upset about it.
How do you feel about making it to the Overwatch League?
It’s a dream come true. The final step of the journey, actually. It’s been a very long process. And everything was perfect. It worked out very nicely.
And you’re from Canada, too. How does it feel to be representing Toronto?
It’s fantastic. There aren’t a lot of players who have that priviledge. Being the only Canadian player on a Canadian OWL team is pretty fantastic.
What is your goal for the next stage?
A lot of learning. Not being in the OWL for a full season and a half means I’m pretty behind. I want overall game knowledge. I played in Contenders, but they didn’t have the same resources or support. We were always a little bit behind. To be given this platform and to learn so much is fantastic.
Do you think Toronto Defiant will do well with the possible 2-2-2 lock?
I think it’ll be pretty good. Logix and I are strong DPS players. Even though we lost, we showed a lot of strengths in our DPS play today. To let us unleash on those heroes would be really good for us in my opinion.
You played a lot of Pharah and Hanzo today. Who is your main?
Pharah.
How do you know which hero to pick?
It came down to map geometry and the compositions the opponent’s running. If they were running a Pharah, I’m very confident in the Pharah 1v1. I like to take those fights as often as possible. For double sniper Sombra, I’d get off of Pharah.
At one point on Eichenwalde, you were on Pharah with a Mercy. You also had an Orisa. How do those heroes all work together?
The pull combos are nice. And if I Rocket Barrage, I can drop down and be behind the Orisa shield. It’s not the best hero combination, but there’s room to work together and play well with it.
Who are your most played heroes?
My top three heroes are Pharah, Hanzo, and Torbjorn. I have a lot of experience on them. I feel comfortable playing them.
Do you see Torbjorn being a thing if 2-2-2 arrives?
In 2-2-2, I think so, yeah. He’s not good at denying hit scan heroes, like Widow and other snipers. But he’s good at countering dive. If teams are running dives, you should expect me to play a lot of Torbjorn.
That’ll be a lot of fun. What drew you to play Torbjorn?
I’ve always been a fan of builder heroes. When I played Team Fortress 2 I was mainly a Soldier player, but I enjoyed playing Engineer a lot. The idea of the turret and that internal support, that was pretty cool to me.
What did you think of Dafran’s Torbjorn play? I think it was one of Torbjorn’s only showings this season.
It was the first match of the day, in the season’s first match ever. And he locks Torbjorn instantly. It was fantastic. I think I’m a better Torb, I’m just saying. But I think we’ll be doing a Torb 1v1 at the Atlanta Showdown. Hammer only.
That won’t be able to prove too much!
Not in the slightest, but it’ll be fun!
Are you looking forward to the Atlanta Homestand Weekend?
It was kind of crazy. I didn’t even know I was going to Atlanta until four days ago. I woke up one day, saw the scrim schedule, and was like, “Oh, we’re going to Atlanta!” It’ll be pretty fun.
Once your team starts to improve communication and synergy, what do you see your team’s strengths being?
Our weakness is synergy, but we are strong mechanically.
You just need some time to work on it?
It’s pretty much just a time thing for us.
What is the team doing to work on the communication now that you’re a mix-language team?
The Korean players are taking English classes to help with communicaiton. I would be interested in learning Korean, if given the opportunity. We’re also playing a lot togther in scrims and in ranked.
When a team has two languages, do you find simple call-outs that all players can understand?
We don’t have specific call-outs for maps yet. But that’s probably something we’ll go over in the future. But for the time behing, we’re calling things as simply as possible for the people who aren’t very strong at English.
What did you want to say to the fans who have been following your journey?
It’s been a very long ride. Lots of highs and lots of lows. But people have stuck through it with me and I appreciate all the support.
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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