With half of the Overwatch League’s fourth season done, there are some reasonable candidates for both Rookie of the Year and MVP. Writer Emerald Gao from Blizzard Entertainment interviewed every general manager for their insight on plenty of things. This included votes for Rookie of the Year and MVP. As only half of the year has passed, these two awards should have notable nominees so far.
Rookie of the Year candidates
In this article, the general manager’s votes had Oh “Pelican” Se-Hyun, Yangjie “Shy” Zheng, and Shin “Piggy” Min-June. An honorable mention included in the list was Emir “Kaan” Okumus. With managers agreeing on these picks, the league may have come to some kind of consensus. These picks may have some bias from recent tournaments, as the June Joust was just before this article was released. Pelican is the key reason the Atlanta Reign’s third-place finish in the June Joust. Similarly, Shy from the Hangzhou Spark also turned heads in the June Joust qualifiers. Piggy and Kaan are more consistent performers throughout the first two tournaments. However, both Piggy and Kaan have yet to have seen playoff play. This shouldn’t be a decider for Rookie of the Year, especially with two tournaments left to play.
Some possible candidates for the end of the year’s final votes include players that were under a different vote in Gao’s article. One section was labeled: Most Surprising Player, which has some good candidates as well. Pelican and Kaan return in that list, but the one notable player that could be in contention for rookie of the year is Toronto Defiant’s Luka “Aspire” Rolovic. As a rookie forced into the league as a substitute, his play against tough opposition helped the Defiant to a recent win against the Florida Mayhem. If his form continues and leads the Defiant to glory, he could join the list.
MVP Candidates
Let’s get the first thing out of the way, most Dallas Fuel players are in contention. Both Lee “Fearless” Eui-Seok and Kim “Sp9rk1e” Yeong-Han are the top two voted by the general managers. Choi “Hanbin” Han-Been was fourth, putting three Fuel players in the top five votes for MVP so far. It’s hard not to vote for them right now, with the Fuel looking like the best Western team.
However, with two tournaments left, there are other candidates for MVP. One is Kim “Yaki” Jun-ki, who arguably fits the meaning of MVP the most. His Tracer play for the Mayhem has single-handedly won them various maps that it’s hard to ignore. He might not win championships this season like Fearless, Sp9rk1e and Hanbin, but if removed from the Mayhem team, they look significantly weaker. Another possible candidate is last years’ MVP and third-place in this mock MVP vote. Kim “Fleta” Byung-Sun was key to the Shanghai Dragon’s recent tournament win. His versatility and importance to the Dragons roster make him a viable candidate almost every year.
As of right now, the MVP and Rookie of the Year of the Overwatch League’s fourth season are still in the air. But, some time remains for players to make their case.
Published: Jun 27, 2021 02:39 pm