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Birdring

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Not to be confused with birding.
In this Korean name, the family name is Kim.
birdring
Birdring at the 2018 Grand Finals
Personal information
NameKim Ji-hyeok
(김지혁)
Born1998 or 1999 (age 25–26)[1]
NationalitySouth Korean
Career information
GameOverwatch
Playing career2016–2021, 2023–present
RoleDamage
Team history
2016–2017KongDoo Uncia
2017KongDoo Panthera
2017Cloud9 KongDoo
2018–2019London Spitfire
2020–2021Los Angeles Gladiators
2023Boston Uprising
Career highlights and awards

Kim Ji-hyeok (Korean: 김지혁), better known by his online alias Birdring, is a South Korean professional Overwatch player who played for several teams in the Overwatch League (OWL). He is best known for playing hitscan damage heroes, such as the sniper Widowmaker and highly-mobile Tracer. Prior to the OWL's inception, he played for KongDoo Uncia, KongDoo Panthera, and Cloud9 KongDoo. Birdring signed with the London Spitfire of the OWL in the league's inaugural season wherein he was selected to play in the All-Star Game and won the league's first Grand Finals, after the Spitfire defeated the Philadelphia Fusion. After two seasons with the Spitfire, Birdring signed with the Los Angeles Gladiators. After two seasons with the Gladiators, Birdring retired from professional Overwatch. He came out of retirement a year later and joined the Boston Uprising.

Early life

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According to Birdring in an interview, he dropped out of high school to pursue a career as a professional gamer.[2]

Professional career

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Before transitioning to Overwatch, Birdring dedicated significant time to pursuing a professional career in League of Legends. He invested his efforts in solo queue, hoping to catch the attention of teams, and achieved Challenger rank on three servers: Korea, Japan, and China. Despite receiving offers from teams in Japan and China, Birdring faced an obstacle due to his age, as he was not yet 17 years old, which prevented him from participating in LCS-affiliated matches. This led him to take a break from League of Legends and explore Overwatch, a new and popular game at the time. He found Overwatch to be fun and engaging, which gradually shifted his focus away from League of Legends. While waiting to reach the eligible age, Birdring quickly climbed the ranks in Overwatch. He the joined an amateur team to start playing the game competitively. Soon after, Kongdoo Company announced tryouts, and Birdring, encouraged by a friend, decided to apply. Among numerous applicants, he secured a spot on the team.[3]

Early career

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Birdring at the APEX season 2 quarterfinals

Joining Kongdoo Uncia for the inaugural season of OGN Overwatch APEX, Birdring's team established itself as a formidable contender. Despite a challenging start with a defeat against BK Stars, Uncia demonstrated resilience by winning subsequent matches and advancing to the semifinals. However, their journey ended in a closely contested 3–2 match against Team EnVyUs, the eventual champions.[3]

In Season 2, Kongdoo Uncia went undefeated in the group stage. However, they faced setbacks in the knockout stage, losing to Lunatic-Hai in the quarterfinals. Reflecting on Season 2, Birdring described it as a challenging time. Originally set to join Kongdoo Panthera, Uncia's sister team, at the beginning of the season, he ended up staying with Uncia for one more season to give it another shot. However, the team's results fell short of expectations, leaving Birdring stressed and dissatisfied with his own performance.[3]

Following Season 2, Birdring transferred to Panthera. The move provided a sense of liberation for Birdring, as he felt he no longer carried the burden of being a cornerstone player. Birdring found support from talented teammates such as Rascal and Fissure. In Season 3 of OGN APEX, KongDoo Panthera reached the semifinals where they faced Team EnVyUs. In the match, Birdring delivered an exceptional Tracer performance, earning recognition from commentators and opponents. Panthera secured a decisive 4–0 victory over EnVyUs, securing their spot in the Grand Finals.[3] In the APEX Season 3 Finals on July 29, 2017, Kongdoo Panthera, led by DPS duo Birdring and Rascal, faced reigning champions Lunatic-Hai. Despite Birdring's impressive Tracer play, Lunatic-Hai's coordination and strong support players secured them the victory.[4]

In September 2017, Cloud9 acquired KongDoo Panthera and rebranded the team to Cloud9 KongDoo.[5] The team competed in Season 4 of APEX and reached the semifinals before falling to team GC Busan.[6] In the third place match against NC Foxes, Birdring, playing as Tracer, struggled early in the match. After rebounding from his early issues, he and the team went on to sweep NC Foxes, 4–0.[7]

London Spitfire

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In late 2017, Birdring signed with Cloud9's Overwatch League team London Spitfire for the league's upcoming inaugural season.[8] Throughout Stage 1 of the season, Birdring, while playing as the sniper hero Widowmaker, eliminated 2.42 opponents for every 1 of his own deaths.[9] The team found early success, reaching the Stage 1 Finals. In as 3–2 win over the New York Excelsior in the finals, Birdring, playing as damage hero McCree, had the highest first kill percentage among all players in the Stage 1 Playoffs at 28%.[10] Birdring suffered a wrist injury in Stage 3, causing him to miss three weeks of the stage.[11] With a 24–16 regular season record, the Spitfire entered the season playoffs as the fifth seed.[12] Birdring was selected as a reserve for the 2018 All-Star Game, a game that took place at the end of the season;[13] however, he sat out of the game due to a wrist injury.[14]

Their first best-of-three series was against the Los Angeles Gladiators; the Gladiators won the first match, while the Spitfire won the second, leading to a third, and final, match. In the first map of match three, Birdring, playing as the damage hero Hanzo, sealed the victory for the Spitfire, using Hanzo's ultimate ability Dragonstrike to kill three of the Gladiators as time expired. In map two, Birdring, as Widowmaker, began the fight with a kill on Gladiators' damage player Lane "Surefour" Roberts, which became routine throughout the map, as the Spitfire won that map as well. London won the third map as well to defeat the Gladiators and advance to the semifinals.[15] In the semifinals, the Spitfire faced the Los Angeles Valiant. London took the series with 3–1 and 3–0 wins, advancing them to the Grand Finals, where they faced the Philadelphia Fusion.[16] In the first map of match one, Birdring, playing as Widowmaker, was picked off by Fusion damage player Lee "Carpe" Jae-hyeok, who also was playing as Widowmaker, near the end of the round, ultimately giving Philadelphia the map win.[17] However, the Spitfire went on to win the match 3–1 and won the second match 3–0, giving Birdring and the team their first OWL title.[18]

Through the first three stages of the 2019 season, the most prominent team composition, known as the meta, in the OWL consisted of running three tank heroes and three support heroes in which keeping tanks alive and sustaining over long periods of time were the highest priority. As a damage player, Birdring transitioned playing other roles, such as the support hero Brigitte, and at times, Baptiste.[19][20] Through the first stage of the season, Birdring ranked 24th in damage dealt per 10 minutes, as the Spitfire struggles throughout the stage.[21] After the first three stages of the season, the Spitfire were in sixth place in the regular season standings. In the final quarter of the season, the league implemented an enforced 2-2-2 role lock, where teams must use a team composition of two damage, two tank, and two support heroes, allowing Birdring to return to playing damage heroes.[22] The team finished the regular season in seventh place with a 16–12 record, advancing them to the play-in tournament.[23] With a bye into the final round of the play-ins, the Spitfire faced the Shanghai Dragons; Birdring struggled at times during the match, but ultimately, the team won and advanced to the season playoffs.[24] In the playoffs, London fell to the New York Excelsior in the first round, sending them to the lower bracket of the double-elimination tournament.[25] A loss to the San Francisco Shock in the first round of the lower bracket ended the Spitfire's playoff run.[26] In October 2019, Birdring parted ways with the Spitfire.[27]

As a member of the inaugural season champions, the Spitfire retired Birdring's number 20 jersey on January 15, 2020.[28]

Los Angeles Gladiators

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In November 2019, Birdring was signed by the Los Angeles Gladiators.[1] In the knockouts of the May Melee, the first of three midseason tournaments of the season, Birdring played a multitude of damage heroes, such as Sombra, Tracer, and Reaper; the Gladiators defeated the Washington Justice in the first round but fell to the Philadelphia Fusion in the quarterfinals.[29] In the final midseason tournament of the season, the Countdown Cup, the Gladiators faced the Toronto Defiant in the first round of the knockouts. In the final map of the match, Birdring played as Junkrat and achieved a "Fleta deadlift", a statistic named after Kim "Fleta" Byung-sun that occurs when one player accounts over half of their team's eliminations, as the Gladiators won 3–2.[30] Los Angeles lost to the Philadelphia Fusion the following match.[31] The Gladiators finished the regular season with the sixth seed in North America and advanced to the play-in tournament.[32] The team defeated the Toronto Defiant in the play-ins to advance to the season playoffs;[33] after the match Birdring collapsed during the live OWL broadcast. Los Angeles Gladiators' director of operations Brenda Suh said that Birdring experienced dizziness from dehydration and orthostatic hypotension.[34] Despite the collapse, Birdring played the following day in the first round of the double-elimination North America bracket against the Fusion; Los Angeles lost the match 0–3.[35] A 0–3 loss against the Florida Mayhem the following day ended the Gladiators' season.[36]

Birdring and the Gladiators won the 2021 Countdown Cup, one of four midseason tournaments of the 2021 Overwatch League season. After the end of the 2021 playoffs, Birdring announced his retirement.[37]

Boston Uprising

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After one year, Birdring came out of retirement and joined the Boston Uprising prior to the 2023 season.[38]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Los Angeles Gladiators add former Spitfire DPS birdring". ESPN. Reuters. November 6, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  2. ^ LA Gladiators (May 19, 2020). Get to Know LA Gladiators DPS Player Birdring | Under the Helm. Event occurs at 1:28 – via Youtube.
  3. ^ a b c d Young, Jae Jeon (July 28, 2017). "Birdring reaches new heights with Kongdoo Panthera". ESPN. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  4. ^ Rand, Emily (August 6, 2018). "London Spitfire's Profit, birdring rise to greatness as DPS duo". ESPN. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  5. ^ Garren, Patrick (September 22, 2017). "Cloud9 Signs Korean Overwatch Roster KongDoo Panthera, Will Drop EU and NA Teams". The Esports Observer. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  6. ^ Young, Jae Jeon (October 26, 2017). "GC Busan went back to basics in Overwatch APEX finals win". ESPN. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  7. ^ Nguyen, Steven (October 17, 2017). "Birdring and C9 Kongdoo sweep NC Foxes for 3rd place at Overwatch APEX". ESPN. Retrieved May 30, 2021.
  8. ^ Carpenter, Nicole (November 4, 2017). "London Spitfire reveals its 12-man South Korean roster". Dot Esports. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  9. ^ Handziuk, Alex (May 30, 2018). "Overwatch League rundown (May 30th): Crowning the best Widowmaker Player". CG Magazine. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  10. ^ ESPN Stats and Info (February 12, 2019). "OWL by the numbers: Why the London Spitfire won". ESPN. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  11. ^ Trautman, Ben (June 5, 2018). "Patch Work". Overwatch League. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  12. ^ McWhertor, Michael (July 28, 2018). "London Spitfire win Overwatch League's first championship". Polygon. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  13. ^ Mejia, Ozzie (July 10, 2018). "Blizzard Names 2018 Overwatch League All-Star Game Reserves". Shack News. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  14. ^ Carpenter, Nicole (August 8, 2018). "Birdring will sit out of the Overwatch League All-Star Game due to a wrist injury". Dot Esports. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  15. ^ "Spitfire shuts down LA Gladiators, advances to OWL semis". ESPN. July 14, 2018. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  16. ^ Woolums, Kenneth (July 24, 2018). "London, Philly on even footing ahead of Overwatch League final". ESPN. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  17. ^ Pickard, James (July 30, 2018). "The top 8 plays from the Overwatch League Grand Finals". Red Bull. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  18. ^ Moore, Bo (July 28, 2018). "The London Spitfire win the Overwatch League inaugural Grand Finals". PC Gamer. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  19. ^ Richardson, Liz (October 3, 2019). "London Spitfire release Birdring, NUS, and Guard". Dot Esports. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  20. ^ Rand, Emily (April 9, 2019). "From GOATS to BOATS: How the Overwatch League meta has shifted". ESPN. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  21. ^ Niederhoffer, Noah (March 29, 2019). "The top things to know as Overwatch League Stage 2 approaches". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  22. ^ Richardson, Liz (August 5, 2019). "How role lock caused huge upsets in the Overwatch League". Dot Esports. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  23. ^ Mejia, Ozzie (August 26, 2019). "Overwatch League - All Season 2 playoff teams". Shack News. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  24. ^ Richardson, Liz (August 31, 2019). "London Spitfire and Seoul Dynasty advance to Overwatch League 2019 season playoffs". Dot Esports. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  25. ^ "Reign upset Shock to advance in Overwatch League playoffs". ESPN. Reuters. September 7, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  26. ^ Richardson, Liz (September 7, 2019). "Seoul Dynasty and London Spitfire eliminated from Overwatch League playoffs". Dot Esports. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  27. ^ "London Spitfire release Birdring, NUS, Guard, coach Jfeel". ESPN. Reuters. October 3, 2019. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  28. ^ London Spitfire [@Spitfire] (January 15, 2020). "Before the start of OWL 2020, we wanted to take the time to honour the 7 players we won the first finals with, by retiring their jersey numbers" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  29. ^ Gvora, Joe (May 25, 2020). "2020 Los Angeles Gladiators May Melee Tournament Recap". The Game Haus. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  30. ^ Richardson, Liz (August 7, 2020). "Fuel to the fire: Overwatch League Countdown Cup Knockout round results". Dot Esports. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  31. ^ Richardson, Liz (August 8, 2020). "Summer sweeps: Overwatch League Countdown Cup quarterfinal results". Dot Esports. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  32. ^ Alford, Aaron (August 24, 2020). "Gladiators Take Battle for L.A. While Valiant Take Fifth Seed". Hotspawn. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  33. ^ Richardson, Liz (September 4, 2020). "Four more teams eliminated in Overwatch League playoffs". Dot Esports. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  34. ^ Michael, Cale (September 5, 2020). "Los Angeles Gladiators says Birdring's collapse during Overwatch League broadcast due to orthostatic hypotension". Dot Esports. Retrieved May 31, 2021.
  35. ^ Miller, Chris (September 5, 2020). "Overwatch League – Los Angeles Gladiators Face The Philadelphia Fusion Surprisingly Quick". Happy Gamer. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  36. ^ Richardson, Liz (September 6, 2020). "Paris Eternal, Los Angeles Gladiators eliminated from Overwatch League playoffs". Dot Esports. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  37. ^ Richardson, Liz (October 6, 2021). "Veteran Overwatch League DPS birdring retires". Dot Esports. Retrieved October 7, 2021.
  38. ^ Czar, Michael (December 23, 2022). "Boston Uprising reveal entire roster for OWL 2023". Upcomer. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
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