Gyomin is the head coach for Lazuli, a Japanese Overwatch 2 team that recently won Overwatch Champions Series (OWCS) Japan Stage 2. Jang "Gyomin" Young-hoon has coached in South Korea, China, Australia, Europe, North America, Pacific, Calling All Heroes, Japan, and Saudi Arabia. He led Lazuli to a stage title on LAN in Tokyo.
While their berth in the OWCS Asia finals in Korea was already set, Lazuli's 4-1 win over Nyam Gaming punctuated a breakout season for the Japanese organization, based in the city of Kumamoto. Before the Asia LAN, Gyomin spoke with Kryix to discuss the unique challenges of a Japanese-Korean roster, and meta patterns in the Asia region.
What must you do differently when coaching players from different regions?
I think it depends on the players' style, whether they have the fundamentals or not, and whether they are quick or slow in understanding.
How do you tackle language barriers on your team?
I speak in Korean when I'm coaching because we have an interpreter. However, in the game, the players use simple words (Japanese or English) to play the game.
Did you attend the LAN finals? What was it like?
The event was filled with fans and the players were playing the tournament from a different room. It was the first offline event in Japan and we were so happy to play.
Schwi played in the Overwatch League. What has his veteran experience brought to the team?
Since he has a good understanding of the game, he has the great ability to lead the team as an in-game leader like Hidden. Since he can speak Japanese, he is good enough to communicate with Japanese players without any problems.
How does Japan compare to Pacific this stage?
The Pacific region has been more active in Overwatch than Japan for a long time, so many players in the Pacific are superior in fundamentals and mechanics. I feel that Japan is still in the growing stage, so I think it has potential. At some point, Japan can also beat the Pacific.
Why has Asia played so much Juno?
I think it's basically because Juno's value is greater than other support heroes. I think Juno's mobility, skill set, damage, healing, and strong Ult are the reasons why we used it so much.
Lazuli opens their OWCS Asia campaign on September 27th at 3:30 AM EST (7:30 AM GMT, 4:30 PM KST) against Poker Face.
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