An Interview with REUNITED's Onigod: "the more we scrim, the more things are working out"

REUNITED recently signed Norwegian player, Onigod, to fill the empty slot in their roster after Kyb's departure. This acquistion was completed during REUNITED's time in Korea, participating in the APEX OGN League Season 1.

Wilson: Hi! Would you be able to introduce yourself to our readers?

Onigod: Hi! I'm 19 years old. I am from Norway. My name is Stefan Fiskerstrand. I go by the ingame name Onigod and I play DPS or flex for Reunited.

W: What was your competitive experience before joining REUNITED? Did you have any experience in other titles?

O: I didn't have much [competitive experience] before Overwatch. I played CSGO at the low professional level and participated in local LANs. I didn't go further than that. In Overwatch, my previous competitive experience was with Nordic Alpha and the World Cup with team Norway.

W: Nordic Alpha has quite a few very strong Norwegian players. How exactly did you guys come together to make that team?

O: There's a Norwegian Ladder with divisions. We all played in teams in that first division. A lot of players were unhappy with their situations in their current teams. We knew all the players were good players, so we decided to form a Norwegian team with the best players.

W: What do you think are the key differences between playing in a mixed team, like the World Cup team, versus a more structured team like REUNITED?

O: I think the key difference is once you play with a team for a while, you know their playstyle and your team knows how to react to different things, like who to focus on the enemy team. You play better because you are more synergized with the players and with the team. I feel like you move more like a unit, instead of going off on your own, like on mixed teams.



W: You were brought into REUNITED to replace Kyb, who was brought on to replace 2Easy. Do you feel any pressure to fill those shoes?

O: Both Kyb and 2Easy are great players, but I think I can play at their level. I don't play the same role because uNFixed has switched to a more dps role, and I am taking over offtanks and the flex role. We had some trouble during the transition because I haven't played much Zarya for the team since I used to play DPS. However, the more we scrim, the more things are working out.

Once you play with a team for a while, you know their playstyle and your team knows how to react to different things, like who to focus on the enemy team. You play better because you are more synergized with the players and with the team.



W: You guys are in Korea right now for the APEX OGN League Season 1. How are you enjoying Korea? Have you guys been going out a lot?

O: I think everyone has gotten rid of the jet lag. Most of us are enjoying it, and we have gotten quite comfortable. I think most people really like Korea. Myself, I like the culture, and, in my opinion, I feel the people are nicer than other countries. The food is great. Also the Korean fans are great as well! We haven't gone out so much because we wanted to get good practice before they [Winghaven and uNFixed] leave for Blizzcon. We might go out next weekend because those are some of the days before Winghaven and uNFixed leave. Although when we aren't scrimming, we go out and eat or just chill in the team room.

W: One of the biggest pieces of news is the upset RunAway had against you guys. There was also quite a stir when Lunatic Hai upset NRG in the APAC Premier Playoffs. What do you feel were the main issues in these situations?

O: Well, I think the problem we had versus Runaway was: I was still trying to get rid of the jet lag, and I had only been playing with the team for three-four days. I was new in the team and still learning stuff. But we were also caught by surprise. People were saying they were running triple tanks, or they preferred tanks. But it was exactly the opposite. They were jumping on us with Genji, Tracer, and Winston. In Asia, there are some really strong hidden teams that the western teams don't know about.

W: Do you feel there are any differences in the Eastern and Western metas?

O: I'm not really sure if there are that many differences in the meta. We haven't scrimmed that many teams, only around 6 or more. Compared to the teams I scrimmed in EU before I joined REUNITED, it's pretty similar. I don't think there are any real differences that i've noticed. I thought there would be a surprise or something, but they watch European games as well, so maybe they are getting ideas from there.

W: Which Korean teams and players stand out to you?

O: I think the team that caught my eye was team RunAway. HakSal, the Genji of RunAway, was a really good player. He had really amazing mechanics and is one of the best Genjis I met so far. In my opinion, he is close to the level of ShadowBurn. Lunatic Hai is another team that could do very well, but we will have to see later in APEX when they play more.

W: Switching over to the meta, some teams have started to move away from the Ana pick. Do you feel this is a trend we will be seeing more? What do you think is the best composition right now?

O: I think we're going to see a lot more Ana. She is not going to go away for a while. Maybe it'll change if she's changed, or we get more supports. I think we'll also see more play of Lucio or Zen because it counters Ana boosted Dragonblade and Anaboosted Reaper. Compositions depend on some maps, but the best comp is Zarya, Reinhardt, Ana, Lucio, Reaper, and Mei. That's a really popular and strong composition, especially if you are on defense. Mei works so well on so many different maps, and you get her ultimate very quickly.

W: What are some nerfs or buffs you would like to see in the future?

O: Personally, if they could change Ana. I know she got a few nerfs and buffs. Her ultimate charge nerf doesn’t really affect her now because she has to wait for Reaper ultimate anyway. She also works extremely well with tanks that can take poke damage. I would like to see changes to something that can deal with tanks. If Reinhardt gets nanoboosted, you can get your ult, use it, and then get your ult again, but you don't really see much Reinhardts anymore. It's more about Reaper. A change to the damage reduction would be good. There's not much counterplay to Zarya shielded Reaper with Death Blossom. You are most likely dead before you can react.

W: Recently we have seen more changes from nanoboosted Reinhardt to nanoboosted Reaper. Why do you think this change has occurred, and why didn’t it occur earlier?

O: I think people didn't really think about Reaper with Nano. If you boost Reinhardt with his hammer, he'll be able to kill everyone. Reaper is super vulnerable without the nanoboost because he is slow and very squishy as well. Two headshots from mcree, and he's dead. Anaboost makes it so he takes much more damage.

W: With Sombra being teased as a stealth champion, how do you think her entry will affected the meta?

O: It is really hard to say something about it because we don't know her abilities or how her stealth works. I hope she'll be in the meta because I think you could see some interesting plays from some players. We'll have to wait and see.

W: Before we end the interview, do you have any shoutouts you would like to give?

O: Shoutouts to my friends, family, and fans of Reunited. Thank you for supporting us. I would also like to shoutout our sponsors: Zowie and Sennheiser.

W: Thank you so much for the interview. Good luck with the rest of APEX!

O: Thank you

REUNITED's next match at APEX will be on November 11th against LuxuryWatch Blue. If you want your quick fix of Onigod, be sure to follow him on Twitter @OnigodOW or on Twitch at https://www.twitch.tv/onigodow

For more competitive Overwatch news, follow @GosuOverwatch.

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