Once upon a time, the Overwatch Team France 2018

Among it, a flexible man like the French flag

The sure bet in any situation

It’s Nicolas “NiCO” Moret



Source : Lanf3ust

When the original article came out in late of August, it wasn’t official that he was in the Paris OWL, he hadn’t won Contenders and the Paris group stage yet. This is why you’ll see no mentions of it in this translation.



The day’s June 4th 2017 in Krefeld, Germany. The Overwatch TakeOver 2 grand final opposing Rogue to eUnited is at its climax, and Rogue frenchies are just about to win. 30 seconds remaining to push the payload until the end of Numbani, a map eUnited did not complete. They desperately try a last contestation, but it will not last long. With his Earth Shatter, KnoxXx knocked both Genji and Lucio down. uNKOE’s Transcendence and winz’s Sound Barrier assisted the rest of the team, despite a good Self Destruct from vallutaja, and closed up the game. It’s a French victory for Rogue in a major tournament, and without major difficulties.

For the major part of the players, it was just an other performance to add in their achievements.

For their flex player, it was a first, and he needed it badly.

This player was none other than NiCO.

Born on March 19th 1995 in Coulommiers, NiCO started a quite normal life, following standard school days, obtaining his baccalaureate in science and his BTEC in Water Management. Standard you say ? Not totally. Many parents of his generation had no clue about video games, but here lies the contrary. NiCO was born in video games. His parents played a lot of MMORPGs and took their son to the mysterious lands of Azeroth in World of Warcraft. Young NiCO did a lot of quests and raids with them. MMORPGs are a very good way to create social links with game partners, even with your own family. This was the birth of a special complicity, but more importantly, a trusting relationship. His parents have never been strict about his studies or his personal growth : NiCO was purely and simply managing himself.

He could, beside his studies, focus on his passion for gaming. If he played World of Warcraft during a very long time, he tried to discover something else. He got into FPS games, and especially fast FPS. It was a kind of shooting game in first person with a lot of movement, and very dynamic gameplay. It required strong reflexes and an almost perfect aim. This type of game brings a lot of skills to its players : reflexes are highly tested, as their adaptability. To sum up, this game demands A LOT of expertise.

The fast FPS who improved NiCO’s mechanics the most and has laid the foundations of his player development was Half-Life 2 : Deathmatch. He excelled in two domains : duel and teamplay. He proved himself on this game, winning several online tournaments. Possibilities were almost infinite, but Valve didn’t manage to keep the players on this saga.

The page had to be turned. NiCO stayed with the same engine, playing Team Fortress 2, Valve’s silly FPS. Against all odds it got a pretty active competitive scene, in which NiCO got into with great success. He proved his worth as a very skilled Scout player, and won many titles with the E-SHOCK squad. You may recognize some of his teammates, all of them except one transitioned to Overwatch:

Izzy from That’s a Disband now playing for Shu’s Money Crew with Kolsti from the French 12,

DeGuN, an OverSquad streamer we will see again in NiCO’s career

Hidan, who played for Skyfoxes in NA Contenders

Baud, who played alongside NiCO with Eagle Gaming

The last player, droso, keeps playing Team Fortress 2 at the moment.

This group hurt a lot of teams in France and Europe, winning French LANs, European seasonal tournaments and a World Cup.



Source : Insomnia

If Half-Life 2 : Deathmatch built NiCO’s mechanics, Team Fortress 2 built his career: at the end of his journey on the game he was known as one of the best French and European players. This recognition caught the eye of MoonL, who had a project: gather the best French players of the popular games at that time and create a team for the Melty organization on a new game in closed beta : Overwatch.

On September 5th 2015, the organization announces its arrival on the game. With KabaL, k3, MoonL, DeGuN and Baud at his side, his first steps on the game were giant steps. The team, eager to create an alchemy, launched itself on other games to gain some kind of fame. When Melty hired the line-up, they were invited to try Overwatch in Prague, and after several hours, NiCO knew. The game pleased him. He signed his contract just after and for the first time, he would get paid to play games.

Good performances came along during online and offline events. Melty was one of the best squads of its time. Sadly, it won’t last. The organization will close its esport section in October 2016, and the team will disband at the same time. The ashes of the Melty squad ? The team Bonjour. One week after its creation, its players showed a great level of performance during the November Alienware Monthly Melee, with a better result than Misfits. The bunny squad at this time was a European titan, with players like SoOn. On the European scene few weeks later, a team had to rebuild its roster. It was Rogue. In December 2016, NiCO was contacted to join Rogue and complete a fully french squad. In the end he was announced on February 24th 2017. The 6 was born.

This composition won numerous tournaments thanks to its triple DPS, in which NiCO played Genji. His most significant victory will be TakeOver Overwatch 2. On the entirety of the tournament, Rogue lost only 3 maps and outclassed eUnited (dominant in Europe at this time) in the finals, 3 maps to 1. NiCO played mainly D.Va in this tournament. Rogue was well prepared, thanks to a Korean bootcamp to take part in APEX, the big tournament gathering the best Korean teams of the moment. Since the beginning of his career, NiCO lacked of a big victory in a major event and this one boosted him, his career, and his motivation to go further and further.

With his teammates, he will be chosen to represent France in the Overwatch World Cup 2017. Last tournament with Rogue since the team will disband late October, failing to find a spot in Overwatch League. NiCO finished fourth with his squad, following a defeat against Sweden in the match for bronze medal.

Gladly, at the same time, a new French organization appeared: Eagle Gaming. NiCO did the trials and will be selcted with KnoxXx in the team. Today he just left the eagle squad to join Paris in Overwatch League Season 2. His record with the French structure ? A top 8 for EU Contenders Season 1 and a gigantic Season 2, in which Eagle Gaming destroyed every opponent with mastery and method. His win against their finest rival Team Gigantti in semifinals was a very strong moment emotionally speaking for NiCO.

Source : Eagle Gaming

With his experience coming from other games, NiCO found his comfort very fast and did not hesitate to play high mechanics heroes. With Rogue, he was known for his Genji and was an expert of projectile champions. With a shift of the meta, he turned himself into an offtank and learned to play D.Va and Zarya. With Eagle Gaming ? He did both. NiCO is what we can call a REAL flex, able to play everything from Tracer and Genji to D.Va and off-tanks. In Overwatch, this role requires to be polyvalent and eager to play the right hero for the right situation. NiCO fits perfectly this description: he can play DPS and off-tank at a very high level and he can make the difference. A complete player, everything close to the definition of this word. “Complete”.

This quality will be very useful for his team and he will be able to give the victory to his country, France. For his second appearance, NiCO is here to show he’s the most flexible player in the world, and the best flex in the world as well.

Lulled by video games, welcomed by the skill.

An unmatchable flexibility.

An unlimited motivation.

It’s his story.

#avecle6

Written by @HammerKick_OW with the help of NiCO himself

Assisted and corrected by @NannaOW

Translated into English by @ChabaLoutre

Source of the foreground picture : Blizzard. Visual by KrapoPlay