The Toronto Defiant have truly lived up to their name, finishing as the third seed in stage one and trouncing opponents that were otherwise seen as real threats. The true dark horse team of the league, having been built from a few unknowns along with seasoned players, no one was willing to predict how well they were going to do. Speculation turned into reality, and now heading into stage two Toronto continues in hopes of surprising everyone.

It was a long day for Ivy, having put in a stellar performance with the Defiant to clinch their own playoff berth by defeating the Hangzhou Spark. So being the true teammate he was, a smiling, T-posing Roky also sat down with me to help answer a few questions about how the Defiant proved doubters wrong, what team surprised them the most, and how confident they really are going into stage 2.

Being an expansion team, the Defiant had an interesting way to promote the brand, with a party, announcing Twitch and YouTube favorite KarQ as a streamer for the Defiant, along with other promotions, but it seemed as if people were a bit hesitant to take you guys seriously. Now that you clinched the playoffs and opened people’s eyes a little bit more, do you feel vindicated?

Roky: In the beginning stages of the Defiant forming, everyone was new, everyone was from different teams, so we really didn’t get a chance to practice a lot. Personally, I think a lot of members did feel a little bit of doubt as well. But going into Stage 1 and despite seeing the power rankings rate us quite low, it only made me eager to work harder and to prove ourselves once and for all. So that’s what we did.

So I’m sure you’re sick of talking about GOATs…

Roky laughs, Ivy gives a agreeing sigh.

Especially since Ivy was a DPS main before the meta shifted. How difficult was it adjusting to that change?

Ivy: So I obviously was more known as a DPS, but I really did love playing Zarya, so it didn’t really bother me too much going into it.

Who are the teams you’d like to play against going forward?

Ivy: Atlanta.

Oh? Why Atlanta?

Ivy: So after we played against them the first time, we didn’t believe we

Roky: New York Excelsior.

Is there any particular team that surprised you so far?

Roky: LA Valiant.

(unashamedly shows off my Valiant jersey)

Roky: OHHOHOHO!

Ivy: Oh no!

Roky: That’s heartbreaking!

It’s okay!

Roky: I’m sorry!

It’s totally okay, you won fair and square. But why do you think that besides having beaten them?

Roky: If you look into the individual players, they are all great players. But I don’t they actually adapted to the current GOATs meta very well.

So given that you guys are relatively new to the Overwatch League scene, what’s something fun that you want the community to know about you?

Ivy and Roky look at each other and giggle.

Ivy: That we’re better than you guys.

(laughs) I knew it! I caught some words, cause I’m brushing up on my Korean, so I understood a little bit of that.

(both laugh)

What are your thoughts about being here in America playing in the Overwatch League? What does it mean to you to be here?

Roky: I’m definitely excited and happy to be here, because we are at the top right now.

Ivy: Obviously, I feel a little bit homesick, but it is really fun to be in the League.

Okay, last one before I let you go. What do you want to tell your fans knowing that you’ve gone beyond everyone’s expectations?

Ivy: We’ve been playing well, but we are going to do better to show you guys what we are made of.

Toronto Defiance’s next game is Saturday April 6th at 4:45 est. Catch them on Twitch, the OWL website, or in the ESPN app.

The post True Defiance: Talking with Seung-hyun “Ivy” Lee and Joo-seong “Roky” Park appeared first on Overwatch League – News, Teams, Events.