Don't take Damon "Apply" Conti any less seriously just because of his cheerful demeanor. In two year he has shot up the competitive ladder and landed among the stars in the Overwatch League. As a former player for Kungarna, Mayhem Academy, and the Florida Mayhem, Apply now has returned back to Overwatch Contenders after Mayhem choose to field a fully Korean roster for the remainder of the season. Apply spoke to Upcomer about his time with the Florida Mayhem, how esports has affected his family life, and his new Contenders roster, Revival.





Congrats Apply on the successful start to the season with the recent victory over Second Wind. Now, I’ve got to ask--could you explain the Mei strategy on Temple of Anubis Attack? I could understand on defense, but attack? What’s the idea behind running her?





Apply: I don’t want to go too in depth because that’d give away the strategy, but I'll say "Curryshot is a god."





Your dream car might be an Audi R8, but what about your teammates? If you could, try and take three different teammates from Revival and match their personality to any car you’d like.





Paintbrush: Truck KKona.

Manne: Bike because I don't know.

Mangachu: Some expensive car because he's rich.





A wise man once said, “gotta remember roster isn't everything, team synergy > big names.” Was that the general mentality going into building the Revival roster? What is the team atmosphere like behind the scenes?

Well, this team has a lot of team synergy and big names so we’re kinda popping off I guess. Also, the atmosphere is very serious but fun at the same time. A good way we all put it is that scrims are SACRED times where we all want one thing and that's to win. But we also all have very good personalities and can have a good time.

How important is the Xbox 360 to you? Try and think back all the way to when you spent your summer vacations up all night playing game, did you ever think you’d be playing them professionally? Was esports even something you followed when you were younger?

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This is a good question, Xbox 360 means everything to me; it was the start of everything. It was my first source of true competitiveness playing game battles all night long, and set me up for a long career of grinding and wanting to win. I followed a lot of Call of Duty esports but not much else, I never thought I'd be pro. It's still very very weird to think about.

I’ve spoken to quite a few professional players and have gotten a mixed bag when it comes to their family situation. How did your parents take you going from playing games more casually to spending upwards of eight hours a day practice to play professionally?

My parents were 50/50. They were very mad that I was falling behind in school, but they really did believe in me and that helped a lot. Also I never really played games “casually” even when I wasn't professional. I was playing 8+ hours a day even in very casual games, I didn't really have a life, it's all I did. That's sad to think about but hey, I made it I guess.

Did it take a little convincing for them to get on board? How has playing professionally affected your family life?

Once the money started rolling in, my parents were on board, to be honest. Playing professionally has changed my family life drastically. My parents miss me a lot and I know it's hard on them that I can't visit home too much due to being very busy and not having much time. But they assured me they are very proud of me and they just want me to succeed.

I know it’s a fairly fresh wound, but could you talk about your time with the Florida Mayhem? What was it like working with Mayhem staff? Do you have any opinions and why they’ve been struggling to find success?

I know a lot of people expect me to say my time on Mayhem was bad, but it really, really wasn't. Mayhem supported me all the way and the people I met and the friends I’ve made were life-changing, and even after the fact of being released they helped Revival by giving all our PCs, beds, desks, all the gear they bought us throughout the years.

On the competitive side of things, I really think the new roster just needs synergy. With all the new pickups it's hard for a team to just easily mesh well and work out. I think individually all the players on that team that I’ve played with are amazing and just need more play time together and they’ll figure it out.

Last but not least, you give off an air of cheerfulness and seem to have a playful attitude. Do you consider yourself to be a mostly positive person? If so, how do you keep that up during high-pressure environments like playing in the Overwatch League?





I like to consider myself a positive person, I really LOVE making people laugh. Even though I can sometimes sound monotone and boring the feeling when someone laughs at your joke or something dumb you said is the best feeling to me. For the second half of that question it's sometimes hard to keep it up in high-pressure moments, and a lot of times I don’t. I’m very serious when it comes to scrimming and improving because at the end of the day that's what I’m here to do.