Timo Kettunen was never meant to be a role model. His recklessness and ultra-competitive nature was a trademark of his play. A gifted aimer from the age of 9, his rise through the FPS community left a trail of negativity in his wake. On August 22nd, 2012, Taimou would receive a one year ban from the European Team Fortress 2 League for “insulting nationality, taunting terrorism victims via offensive team names and ignoring admin warnings”. Subsequent attempts to circumvent the punishment were met with extensions on the ban.

Despite the negative attention associated with his performance, it became quickly impossible to ignore one of the FPS scene’s top hitscan players. Timo’s mastery of Widowmaker and McCree in the early phases of the competitive Overwatch scene would catapult his stock into the public eye. As a founding member of the legendary beta team IDDQD, his ability to lock down enemy DPS from across the map kept his team a step ahead during the dominant Widowmaker meta. His tendency to go on insane headshot streaks was met with cheating accusations by fans and players too reluctant to acknowledge his true skill. Despite the press, Timo would continue to play at the highest level, using every opportunity on stream to show that he never needed an aimbot to win. It wouldn’t be until after Mike “Hastr0” Rufail, Owner of EnVyUs, handbuilt Taimou’s tryout PC that the allegations finally lost steam, but he would never lose the chip on his shoulder.

Taimou strives under pressure. While many Widows prefer to hedge their shots by posting up on safe angles, Taimou takes the fight to the enemy. His blind trust in his ability allows him to push the boundaries of aggression, engaging onto flankers and forcing them to execute before he’s able to get another shot in. His highlights are rarely stationary turret plays, instead showcasing the innovation which makes him such a threat. He could fire from anywhere: off of a grapple of the nearest wall, or even using closed spaces to limit the movement of the opposing flanker.

He fears no one, except himself.

On June 17th, 2017, Taimou would reveal the toll his pursuit of greatness had placed on his mortal body.

Tormented by the weight of his own expectations, he turned to alcohol to cope with his exhaustion. For players so close to perfection, doubt is so much closer. Every loss becomes a personal fault, from which escape is impossible. The confidence which had made him a wrecking ball would cripple him, as the sole responsibility for victory would fall on his fragile shoulders. But when the margin for error is a single pixel, sometimes even Atlas falls. In just a single season after EnVyUs would become the first Western team to win a tournament in Korea, they would exit without winning a single match in the APEX Season 2 playoffs.

For many aspiring players, this is the last stop. Failure finds a way into the folds of their thoughts, complicating what had once become easy.

For Taimou, it was just another critic to shut up.

The same headstrong attitude that got him in trouble early on in his career would be the very same thing to power him back to the limelight. Despite the demands of the meta to adapt through hero swaps, Taimou would instead lean on his team to build around him. The addition of EFFECT drew the attention of the rest of the world, while Taimou would rebuild in his shadow. What emerged was a more efficient player. Taimou no longer needed to take the risky duels he once did. He became more of a role player, using his pinpoint aim to divert attention from EFFECT. As the team began to find its groove in North America, the old Taimou began to re-emerge. He would return to his Widowmaker and McCree when his team needed an extra gear, capitalizing on the void of a true Widow player in the North American space to his advantage.

For the first time in a long time, Taimou would fear nothing, taking his boys in blue all the way to the Overwatch Contenders Season 1 Grand Final, where they would destroy FaZe 4–0. Making his way to the center stage, Taimou would do what very few players have ever done, come back from the dead.

As he raises his last trophy as an EnVyUs player over his head, I like to believe Taimou thinks back. To the young Finnish boy pushing himself to be better than what was possible through sheer will and a naive innocence. To the broken man left staring at the screen in Korea, a hand-width short of glory. He thinks back to the road he has taken and the path forward ascending beyond his vision into the stars. As he leaves the stage, I like to think he keeps walking. Eyes pointed forward. Forever chasing his own perfection.