In the 2020 season, there were many candidates for Rookie of the Year, including Philadelphia Fusion support player Kyung-bo “Alarm” Kim. He’s run an insanely successful path as part of the dominant Fusion University lineup. His performance did not go unnoticed, as he won the Overwatch League’s Rookie of the Year award over plenty of capable candidates.
The journey to the Overwatch League
Alarm’s Overwatch journey began in the Korean APEX tournaments when he was with the BK Stars. He showed potential, but he couldn’t lead his team higher than the semi-finals. Among his teammates were a couple future Overwatch League players, including future teammate Jae-hyeok “Carpe” Lee. Through chance or intention, Alarm ended up joining the Philadelphia Fusion’s academy team: Fusion University.
It wasn’t long before Fusion University became a force to be reckoned with. They won a record five straight championships before moving to Korea and changing names. The Fusion main roster picked up Alarm soon after the team moved to Korea. The great news for management was that he fit in perfectly.
What’s Alarm’s future?
With how good Alarm has become, there’s only one direction—up. The Philadelphia Fusion has reached the Grand Finals weekend, and could win the championship this year. Alarm is looking to lead his team to their first ever championship. Yet, three other teams with other former rookie of the year candidates stand before him. The San Francisco Shock had Seonchang “ANS” Lee, a great DPS with some controversy. Alternatively, the Shanghai Dragons had Jae-won “LIP” Lee, another DPS and role star like ANS. Surely they’re looking for some revenge.
We’ll have to wait and see what the Grand Finals weekend does to Alarm’s reputation. Ironically, the last player to win this award took a break from Overwatch. Either way, Alarm has blossomed into a star rookie no matter what.
