Minho "Architect" Park sat in the bench for the majority of the season. It was until Stage 4 we got to see what kind of role he is playing for the San Francisco Shock. After the Shock's victory against the Shanghai Dragons, Architect entered the room with glee, knowing he's one of the key pieces to the Shock's dominance this year. Architect talked to Inven Global about improving on the bench and his thoughts on how strong the Shock currently is.

Congrats on the win! How happy are you to finally play in the Overwatch League this year?

More than anything, it's a true honor to play in front of all my fans. I think that's a good thing. 


Did waiting all this time really motivate you to keep improving at the game? If so, how?

Definitely being on the bench gave me more motivation to hopefully be out there someday and now I'm here. Every player isn't happy to be on the bench for an extended period of time. Luckily and coincidentally, the meta changed. While my team was dominating with GOATS, I was practicing solely on DPS for a long time. It worked out for me.


Can you tell me what areas did you improve on with your game?

One of the mistakes I had in season one was that I was not really aggressive enough. I didn't play the type of style I wanted to. That was something I focused on during my time on the bench. 


Did anyone give you advice on improving?

More than anything, the entire staff of coaches and management definitely helped me a lot through that. It's definitely shown so far in Stage 4. 

Since coming off the bench for Stage 4, what kind of difference do you think you're making for the team?

For one, I provide a lot of flexibility towards this current starting roster. I'm able to flex onto many types of DPS heroes. The meta isn't stable - there's a lot more to experiment on that we're still seeing. 


Let's say after this game, what are some areas of improvement you need to focus on? 

Mechanically, I want to be the best. With that being the base, I need to lead my team. That's basically the gist of what I can focus on for the rest of this season.


How strong do you think this team is compared to previous stages this year?

I don't think it's comparing now and then. It's more that we're still able to assert our dominance. Obviously, we're in a different meta but we're still a really strong team that should be feared. 


You mentioned that the meta isn't stable at the moment. What teams do you think can challenge you guys moving forward? 

Right now, we're seeing so much hype around Washington and Florida. It's because they have talented DPS players. For us, the big challenge that we thought could be a challenge was actually Shanghai. But, we're able to convincingly beat them 3-1 so we're not worried. 

What are your thoughts on the 2-2-2 lock as a player, and how do you think your team is adjusting to the change mid-season?

This 2-2-2 role lock compared to 3-3 GOATS has more compositions as opposed to one with GOATS. You see so many heroes being played. I think it's good for the fans to see something different. In that sense, I think it's good.

Right now, our team has the most flexible and talented DPS lineup with myself, Striker, sinatraa, and Rascal. I think we're adjusting pretty well to it.


You’ll be playing in your first Homestand at the end of the season. How do you think that will differ from playing at Blizzard Arena?

I think it's going to be pretty exciting. I'm not sure what to expect. My thought is that I need to adjust quick to my surroundings and I hope it's not as cold as the Blizzard Arena. 

We've been in a similar situation with the California Cup before the season started. We're currently 1-1 in terms of playing outside Overwatch League. The Valiant won the first match here in SoCal, then we won at our home for the second match. Since we took the trophy, every time we played them this season, we've never lost to them. We just need to beat them one more time.


Lastly, anything to say to your fans who are finally seeing you play this season?

I always like when our fans keep cheering us on, whether or not I'm playing. I'm thankful for that. I'll always try my best to not let them down. Keep cheering for us all the way to the grand finals.