Kwon Nam-joo (), better known by his online alias Striker, is a South Korean professional ''

Overwatch ''Overwatch'' (abbreviated as OW) is a multimedia franchise centered on a series of multiplayer first-person shooter (FPS) video games developed by Blizzard Entertainment. ''Overwatch (video game), Overwatch'' was released in 2016 with a success ...

'' player. He began his ''Overwatch'' career playing for South Korean team ROX Orcas in Overwatch Apex. Kwon signed with the

Boston Uprising Boston Uprising were an American professional Overwatch (video game)#Esports, ''Overwatch'' esports team based in Boston, Massachusetts. The team competed in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's West region. Founded in 2017, Bo ...

ahead of the

Overwatch League The Overwatch League (OWL) was a professional esports league for the video game ''Overwatch'', produced by its developer, Blizzard Entertainment. From 2018 to 2023, the Overwatch League followed the model of other traditional North American prof ...

(OWL) inaugural season. After one season with the Uprising, Kwon was traded to the

San Francisco Shock The San Francisco Shock are an United States, American professional Overwatch (video game)#Esports, ''Overwatch'' esports team based in San Francisco, California. The Shock competed in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's West ...

. In his time with the Shock, he won two Overwatch League championships, in 2019 and 2020, and was named the 2020 Grand Finals most valuable player. Kwon retired from professional ''Overwatch'' in mid-2021; however he came out of retirement a few months later. He signed with the Uprising for the 2022 season but was released after only a few weeks into the season. Later that season, he signed back with the Shock and reached the 2022 Grand Finals with the team. The following year, he again joined the Uprising, and midway through the season, he again left the team and joined the Shock.

Professional career

Early career

Kwon began his ''Overwatch'' career playing for ROX Orcas in the fourth season of the South Korean Overwatch Apex Challenger series. His team finished in fourth place, promoting them to the Overwatch Apex series. However, the team finished near the bottom of the standings.

Boston Uprising

Kwon was signed to the

for ahead of the inaugural season of the

. Following the suspension of Boston damage player Jonathan "DreamKazper" Sanchez early in

Stage 3 Stage, stages, or staging may refer to: Arts and media Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly Brit ...

of the 2018 season, Kwon took over the starting damage position on the team. Throughout Stage 3, Kwon had the highest

Tracer Tracer may refer to: Science * Flow tracer, any fluid property used to track fluid motion * Fluorescent tracer, a substance such as 2-NBDG containing a fluorophore that is used for tracking purposes * Histochemical tracer, a substance used for ...

rating in the league and accounted for 30.5% of his team's kills — also the highest in the league. The Uprising did not lose a single match in the stage, going , to become the first team to go undefeated in a stage. Prior to the start of

Stage 4 Stage 4 may refer to: * Key Stage 4 * ''Stage 4'' of ''Everywhere at the End of Time'' * Cambrian Stage 4 Cambrian Stage 4 is the still unnamed fourth stage of the Cambrian and the upper stage of Cambrian Series 2. It follows Cambrian Stage 3 an ...

, ''Overwatch'' underwent a balancing update, as well as the introduction of the new

hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. The original hero type of classical epics did such thin ...

Brigitte, which significantly reduced Kwon's effectiveness on Tracer. At the end of the regular season, Kwon accounted for 27% of his teams kills when playing as Tracer and 33% of his team's kills when playing as

Pharah Pharah is the call sign of Fareeha Amari, a character who first appeared in the 2016 video game ''Overwatch'', a Blizzard Entertainment–developed first-person shooter, and the resulting franchise. Voiced by Jen Cohn, she is an Egyptian woman ...

. He also had the most "Fleta Deadlifts," an OWL statistic referring to when a player accounts for more than half of a team's final blows on a map, in the 2018 season at seven. As of the end of the 2021 season, this is the most Fleta Deadlifts by any player in the league's history. At the end of the season, Kwon named a 2018 All-Star reserve.

San Francisco Shock

Prior to the 2019 season, Kwon was transferred to the

, reuniting him and former Uprising head coach Park "Crusty" Dae-hee, who was the head coach of Boston through the first three stages of the 2018 season. Kwon did not play much in the first three stages of the 2019 season, although he made an appearance in the

finals against the

Shanghai Dragons The Shanghai Dragons () were a professional ''Overwatch'' esports team based in Shanghai, China. The Dragons competed in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's East region. Founded in 2017, Shanghai Dragons were one of the leag ...

. After the implementation of a role lock by the league in Stage 4 onwards, Kwon found more playtime. In the 2019 season playoffs, Kwon found playing time on the hero

Reaper A reaper is a farm implement that reaps (cuts and often also gathers) crops at harvest when they are ripe. Usually the crop involved is a cereal grass, especially wheat. The first documented reaping machines were Gallic reapers that were used ...

; in all of the playoff matches before the finals, Kwon was ranked in the top three in all major statistical categories on Reaper. The Shock played in

2019 Overwatch League Grand Finals The 2019 Overwatch League Grand Finals was the second championship series of the Overwatch League (OWL), which took place on September 29, 2019. The series was the conclusion of the 2019 Overwatch League playoffs and was played between the Vanco ...

on September 29, 2019; although Kwon sustained injuries to his left hand and leg prior to the match, he competed in the match. Kwon played in two of the four maps in the finals, as the Shock went on to defeat the

Vancouver Titans The Vancouver Titans were a professional Overwatch (video game)#Esports, ''Overwatch'' esports team based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Titans competed in the now defunct Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's West regi ...

, 4–0. He and the Shock reached the 2020 Grand Finals, where they defeated the

Seoul Dynasty Seoul Dynasty is a South Korean professional Overwatch (video game)#Esports, ''Overwatch'' esports team based in Seoul, South Korea. The Dynasty compete in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's East region. Founded in 2017, Seou ...

by a score of 4–2 on October 10, 2020. Playing mainly as Tracer, Kwon accounted for 72 final blows, a statistic referring to when a player lands the final shot that kills an opponent, in the match, won the Grand Finals Most Valuable Player award, and won his second OWL title in as many years. On June 23, 2021, the Shock announced that Kwon had retired from professional ''Overwatch''.

Return to the Uprising

In October 2021, Kwon returned to the Overwatch League, signing with the Uprising for the 2022 season. After being a starter for the team throughout the first few matches, he was benched in favor of teammate Gi-hun "Victoria" Oh on May 21. Two days later, Kwon was released from the Uprising.

Return to the Shock

On September 29, 2022, the Shock announced that Kwon had been signed back to the organization for the remainder of the 2022 season. He played in the 2022 Grand Finals as a starter but lost the match against the

Dallas Fuel Dallas Fuel was an American professional ''Overwatch'' team based in Dallas, Texas. The Fuel competed in the Overwatch League (OWL) as a member of the league's East region. The team disbanded before the folding of the Overwatch League on Septem ...

Third stint with the Uprising

Kwon joined the Boston Uprising, for the third time, prior to the 2023 season. After the Uprising failed to qualify for the Midseason Madness tournament, Kwon parted ways with the team.

Third stint with the Shock

Kwon joined the San Francisco Shock, for the third time, midway through the 2023 season.

References

External links

*Career statistics and player information fro
the Overwatch League
{{Authority control South Korean esports players Living people Boston Uprising players San Francisco Shock players Year of birth missing (living people)