Presenting: ELO Hell

I haven’t been writing much in the past few months. Motivation has been hard to come by, especially with the current state of the world battling one of the worst pandemics in recent memory.

Being in quarantine has given me some unexpected free time, and I tend to doodle on MS Paint whenever I’m bored. Recently, these random doodles have begun to take a life on their own. They were originally just for my amusement, but I’ve decided to collect some of these ideas and turn them into comic strips to share with others. I’m no Da Vinci, but I hope these strips will provide a smile, perhaps even a chuckle, during these difficult times.

So I present to you, dear reader, the inaugural issue of “ELO Hell,” a comic strip focusing on the everyday gamer life. Starring Leon, an awkward gamer with a bit of a crazy side, and Mikey, his friend and pet turtle who always keeps it real. Enjoy!

ELO Hell 1

If it’s too small, click here for the full image.

It’s my hope to turn this into a weekly comic strip. Stay tuned for the next one!

–LA

Edit: For more comics, visit the “ELO Hell” archive here.

KitKat Rivalry Weekend: The World Could Always Use More Heroes

For fans of the Overwatch League (OWL), KitKat Rivalry Weekend (KKRW) represented the final games of the regular season. It was the last stop before playoffs, featuring some of the greatest rivalries that had developed over the past two seasons, such as the San Francisco Shock vs. the Vancouver Titans, the Hangzhou Spark vs. the Shanghai Dragons, and of course, one of the original and fiercest rivalries in OWL, the LA Gladiators vs. the LA Valiant, which is better known as the Battle of LA. The weekend was a last hurrah to cap off a season full of new teams and new faces, the birth and death of GOATS, and the meteoric rise and fall of analyst Brennon Hook in his quest to lose 1v1 duels to every OWL pro, beginning with London Spitfire’s Gesture.

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The Valiant: Boldly Bearing Calamity

Last summer, the Overwatch League (OWL) finished its inaugural season and crowned the London Spitfire as its first champions. My favorite team, the Los Angeles Valiant, fell to the Spitfire in the semi-finals but still had an incredible first season. They were Stage 4 Champions, Pacific Division Champions, and finished second overall in the league behind the New York Excelsior. During the off-season, when the official OWL streams ended and teams went on break, I realized how much I missed seeing the Valiant play on stage. Off-season events like the California Cup co-hosted with the San Francisco Shock helped fans from both teams deal with the lull, and individual players streaming on Twitch helped to bridge the gap, too. As Season 2 approached, there was a palpable feeling of excitement among OWL fans, me included. I was so hyped to see the Valiant back in action. Having been a fan since the roster reveal, I’ve witnessed some rough patches. Stage 2 was not a particularly good time for us, but the team fought back after making some big trades and coaching changes. They ended Season 1 strongly.

Expectations were high for Season 2, and then… the Valiant hit the roughest patch in the team’s young history. They went 0-7 in Stage 1. There were lots of memes and mean-spirited comments being tossed around. I did my best to send positive tweets to the players and help uplift fellow fans. Little things, really, but maybe it helped someway, somehow. During this stage, I came to the realization that my loyalty to this team would remain steadfast, no matter what happened. Initially, I couldn’t figure out why. How did this happen? I’ve never felt this way about any other teams I’ve been a fan of: the LA Lakers, the 1990’s Chicago Bulls, even my alma mater, the UCLA Bruins. And yet, here I was, feeling every one of those 7 defeats like a sucker punch to the soul. So again, I asked, why? What makes the Valiant so special?

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