Overwatch’s quadrupedal African robot Orisa is so new that she’s not even allowed in the game’s official competitive mode yet. Despite that, a team decided to pick her in a pro match yesterday evening, hours after she came out. It did not go well for them.
The team? Renegades. They were up against Complexity as part of the North-American Carbon Series tournament, and things weren’t going super hot for them on the third map of a set on icy control stage Nepal. All evening, players across multiple teams had been troll-picking Orisa, only to switch off her once matches started. Since nobody had much experience with her, they didn’t want to risk getting trounced.
By this point, Twitch chat and even the tournament’s commentators were losing their minds. People wanted somebody, anybody, to go Orisa, and the commentary team was happy to remind viewers and players alike that Carbon Series wasn’t using any kind of special tournament server, so Orisa was absolutely an option. They did not, however, expect anyone to listen.
Fast forward to 3:31:46 to see the moment unfold.
Out of nowhere, with time ticking down to a Complexity victory, Renegades player Preston “Juv3nile” Dornon came flying—or, er, purposefully trudging, on four poised, confident legs—out the gate as Orisa. It took everyone a moment to comprehend what was happening. They couldn’t believe their eyes.
“Oh? Oh!” one of the commentators whooped in delight.
“I’ve never heard you make that noise before!” said the other.
Twitch chat, too, went nuts:
Unfortunately, that ended up being the high point of Juv3nile’s bold attempt at a counter. He proceeded to advance to the point and throw down a shield, only to promptly get run over by Reinhardt, a character Orisa is meant to be able to counter quite handily. The dream died in a flash.
It was not unlike the first time a pro player ever picked Sombra: thrilling for the sheer unpredictability of it all, but ultimately futile. I’m sure we’ll see pros develop more elaborate strats around Orisa in the coming weeks, but for now, props to Juv3nile for trying. He may not be the best, but he’ll always be the first.