Dallas Fuel's Bliss on becoming "the player that a team needs"

Careers in esports don't always start young, but in Kim "Bliss" So-myung's case, they do. Breaking out on the world's stage as a part of Gen.G Esports, Bliss made a name for himself as one of the best young support players on the come up. Now that he's got half an Overwatch League season under his belt, we think it's safe to say he's been living up to the hype. 

Bliss spoke to GGRecon on how he believes he's grown as an Overwatch player, what his expectations were of joining the defending champions, and more.

Bliss on growth, 2023, and beyond

Before we get caught up in the "Overwatch" talk, we'd love to get to know Bliss better as a person. Could you share one of your first memories of thinking about pro-gaming? Was it always a goal you had growing up?

I’ve never put too much thought into my career. 

I had fun playing Overwatch in Elementary school and became interested in pro gaming as a job while watching the APEX tournament at the time.

If you had to describe yourself in one word, which would you choose? What does that one word mean to you? 

I would choose the word "learning" or "developing".

A pro gamer’s career involves having to learn and grow at every given moment. I want to become a player who always learns and advances forward, so I would pick the word learning to describe myself.

If you weren't competing in the Overwatch League right now, what would you be doing? Any career paths you think you'd want to pursue?

I feel like I would have been an ordinary student. I really can’t think of any other job. Nothing really pops up in my mind.

Could you describe what the process was like signing with the Dallas Fuel for the 2023 Overwatch League season? What does it mean to you to play for the defending champions? 

After wrapping up 2022 with a good result in Overwatch Contenders, I took part in various tryouts for OWL teams and talked with teams that needed me. I ended up joining Dallas in the process.

Personally, I do feel quite a bit of pressure but it will be a good experience for me to play alongside a championship-winning head coach. I take it as something that won’t happen commonly in my career, so I expect to learn a lot.

Most Western fans were likely first introduced to you with your time on Gen.G Esports during the 2019 Overwatch Contenders: Gauntlet. How do you think you've grown as a player since then? 

I used to ponder about how I can play better as an individual player back in 2019, but now I think deeply about how I can take part in the success of my team and try to become the player that a team needs.

On May 6th, you had your rookie debut against the Seoul Infernal. First, we've got to know; what was the backstory of the team's walkout with Choi "Hanbin" Han-been? Was there something else you guys were going to do? 

Hanbin proactively came up with that idea and we proceeded with it. 

I don’t think I have anything else I personally wanted to do.

That aside, how did it feel to play on stage again? Is that feeling of playing in front of a live audience something that drives you to compete? 

To be honest, the process of preparing for a match as a pro gamer is more difficult than you’d think. 

However, the joy of winning a match, especially on stage makes me want to keep continuing my journey as a pro gamer despite the hardships.

Last but not least, do you have any hopes for the season? Any goals you're aiming for?

My goal is to win the title this season and win my offline stage matches in front of all the fans. That's what I hope for the most.