Yelin Kong, a first-year support player, was a midseason addition to the Ohio State Overwatch premier team. Credit: Courtesy of Yelin Kong
Yelin Kong was cut from the Premier Overwatch team during tryouts in August. But three months later, she gave it another shot.
Kong, a first-year support player, is now one of two support players on the premier gray team. Kong — also known as “Moony” — was added to the team Nov. 1 after the team parted ways with a player earlier this season.
“When I heard of the position opening I was like, ‘Hey, I could maybe do this,’ ’cause when I first tried out I listed myself as a tank and support player,” Kong said. “It just happened I couldn’t play support those days so I just decided that this could be a chance for me to show this other side of me.”
The Overwatch premier team held tryouts at the beginning of the semester where students could list their preferences as to what position they would like to try out for. When tryouts were completed, Kong found out she did not make the team as her preferred tank role, which led to her trying out and making the squad for the open support role.
However, Kong wasn’t brought on just because she was listed as a support player. Instead, she had to try out with the gray team along with two other support players from the initial team tryouts this year.
Jake Blitch, senior analyst for the premier team said the team sent a message to those who had tried out prior to the season. Blitch said among the three players selected to individually scrimmage with the team, Kong was the one chosen to fill the void.
Kong’s addition meant she was the only woman on the 12-person premier team, however she said that she has fit right in.
“It’s not that big of a problem or anything for me. I find it pretty natural to just fit in and stuff,” Kong said. “They don’t really acknowledge anything different and we’re just a team still.”
Among the main reasons for Kong’s addition to the team is her diverse hero pool and her ability to complement the gray team’s other players in the compositions they want to play during matches.
“I think that she is confident, that’s the biggest thing,” Justin Yancey, the main tank player on the gray team, said. “She’s confident on whatever hero she is playing, even if it is something she is not necessarily the most comfortable with. She will play it and play it well. I never have to worry about if I’m going to get healed or is this going to be a good fight for us, it’s kinda automatic for her.”
Most esports players usually start with or eventually obtain a powerful PC in order to play at the competitive levels, but Kong started out playing Overwatch on a laptop. She has continued to play on a laptop even in her competitive role with the team.
“About a month before the semester started, I got a new laptop. My old laptop was really old; it was like four years old at the time,” Kong said. “And then I moved on to campus with my new laptop so now it’s much, much better so I think that helped improve my gameplay a lot.”
For Kong, making the team was a huge accomplishment, and she said she appreciates all the praise that she’s received about her gameplay from coaches and teammates.
Despite the praise from her peers, Kong said she still sometimes struggles to feel upbeat about some of her accomplishments. Pointing to her own struggles with mental health, Kong said that the encouragement from her teammates and analysts have been a great help to her.
“I have some mental illnesses and that can take a toll on my gameplay and me connecting with my teammates and stuff. I just want people to know that it’s OK to be like that and it’s OK to have off days and bad days,” Kong said. “I just want people to be aware not everyone is having the times of their lives all the time, some people are struggling and that’s OK and sometimes they just need a little bit of encouragement and help.”
