“When I first played with Gesture,” said Park “Profit” Jun-young, “I was a bit scared of him, because his voice was very low. But it seemed like he was a good player, so it was okay.”
Profit talks about his longtime teammate Hong “Gesture” Jae-hee with the kind of familiarity that comes from having competed together for over four years. The duo, who currently play for the Seoul Dynasty, began their pro careers together in 2017 and haven’t been apart since.
It’s not much of a stretch to say that Profit and Gesture are one of the most successful duos in Overwatch history. In fact, there’s a real argument for them being the most successful. The pair first came onto the scene as part of GC Busan and quickly took the Korean scene by storm. They started in OGN APEX qualifiers and made it all the way to the grand finals; winning the whole thing and taking down fan favorite teams, like Lunatic-Hai and RunAway, along the way. They then scooped up another title before joining the London Spitfire. There, they became champions of the Overwatch League’s inaugural season. Together, they went nearly two years without losing a major championship.
“Playing with Profit, who is a very good player, has made me a better player,” Gesture said of their partnership. “There are fans who think we’re the best Overwatch duo, and others may disagree with that. I personally think we’re very helpful to each other, which makes us a great duo.”
Profit and Gesture’s synergy
Profit and Gesture’s in-game synergy is well-documented and a huge part of their success. At the beginning of their careers, they became known for their individual skill. Profit’s Tracer was quickly hailed as one of the best in the world; Gesture’s Winston seemed leagues ahead of even the best main tank players at the time. Tracer and Winston were a popular dive hero combination at that time; their coordinated dives allowed them to tear through the competition. Over the years, Profit and Gesture occasionally moved onto different hero combinations, but their synergy has always remained their best asset.
NOT so fast… @GestureOW @PROFIT_OWL #OWL2018 #TheFirstFinals
LIVE: https://t.co/U6dIipgQGs pic.twitter.com/0nM37poeGp
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) July 28, 2018
In 2021, Profit is still playing Tracer. He’s an expert at expanding his hero pool whenever the meta calls for it. But, that’s one thing that will seemingly never change.
“I used to play a lot of Tracer,” Profit said. “Now, I still play a lot of Tracer. As long as Tracer is good, I don’t think my role as a DPS will change either.”
It’s unusual for a pair to stay together for as long as this duo has in professional Overwatch. Their partnership is especially meaningful when taking into account how young they were when they began playing together; Profit was 17 and Gesture was 19. They’ve essentially grown up playing together.
Park “Changgoon” Chang-geun was one of GC Busan’s coaches through the pair’s explosive initial run. He originally went to the London Spitfire along with the duo, but he joined the Seoul Dynasty in 2019 while Profit and Gesture stayed on the Spitfire. The following year, he reunited with Profit and Gesture again on the Dynasty. Apart from that one year on another team, he’s been with them through it all.
“When I first met Profit and Gesture, they were both kids,” Changgoon said. “We were together on GC Busan and London Spitfire, and I still felt like they were kids. Then we separated for a year when I went to Seoul Dynasty, and when we met again, I suddenly felt like they’d grown up. They were drinking and going on dates…it was weird at first. They became adults.”
The legacy of Profit and Gesture
In 2020, the Seoul Dynasty were the scariest team in the East Division despite their subpar results. Everyone was afraid to face them, even if their record was bad, because there was always the possibility that they would show up and make it all the way. And this is exactly what they did during season playoffs. Despite struggling through the regular season, the Dynasty made it all the way to the grand finals, ultimately losing against the Shock.
How much of that was Profit and Gesture? It’s impossible to say for sure, but the two seem to have a pattern of over performing when expectations for them are low. They’ll need to harness some of that same magic this season, too. The Dynasty aren’t doing poorly but they haven’t quite broken into the upper echelon of East Division teams yet.
Still, Profit and Gesture secured their legacy, long ago, as one of the best duos in Overwatch. The only thing yet to be seen is how much longer it can last — and how much higher they can climb.
“I’m really grateful to hear people think we’re the best Overwatch duo,” Profit said. “I hope we can continue playing together.”
