The bitter taste of defeat is something I wouldn’t wish on anyone, yet some teams are consistently reminded of that utterly nauseating flavor. That same taste that makes your cheeks flush, that same taste that makes your ears red hot as they throb along with the tempo of maddening thoughts racing through your head. Sadly, that is the reality for some. That cotton-mouth feeling as you unplug your mouse and keyboard, watching your nemesis rush towards what was rightfully yours. For one team to bask in the glory of victory, another must accept the cold embrace of defeat. It’s that same terribly taste that one Overwatch team has rinsed from their mouths.

The South Korean sweethearts, RunAway, have reached their wit’s end. With their exit of the Nexus Cup 2017 Annual Finals at 9-12th place, it is sadly safe to say that RunAway is the best team to never win an Overwatch event. It’s not that their pieces are insufficient or that they lack the firepower —  RunAway’s undiagnosed problems run deeper and are a bit more uncertain than most.

RunAway is one of the longest standing organizations in South Korean Overwatch, having played in every Overwatch APEX Season since the first and even battling through the relegation at the end of APEX Season 1 and easily qualified for APEX Season 2. Overall, Season 2 lent itself to the perennial underdogs as they marched straight into the grand finals, but would not leave with the gold. APEX Season 3 saw RunAway unable to find their footing, but they returned in Season 4 with another grand final appearance. RunAway have competed throughout South Korean and have even ventured into Chinese territory, but have never emerged the victors. They’ve come within mere inches of the finish line, but can never seem to finish the job.

Results:

Overwatch APEX Season 1 (13-16th place)

Overwatch APEX Season 2 (2nd place)

Overwatch APEX Season 3 (9-12th place)

Nexus Cup 2017 - Summer (2nd place)

Overwatch APEX Season 4 (2nd place)

APAC Premier 2017 (2nd place)

Nexus Cup 2017 - Annual Finals (9-12th place)

Overwatch Contenders Korea Season 1 (3-4th place)

RunAway’s best chance at claiming a title win was during OGN Overwatch APEX Season 2 where they squared off against Lunatic-Hai. Led by the Genji prodigy, Kim "Haksal" Hyo-jong, RunAway’s aggressive dive-centric style was a level above the competition in APEX Season 2. Riding the momentum of climbing their way out of relegation, RunAway found themselves now in a new season ready to craft a new story. They were seated in Group D with KongDoo Panthera, Fnatic, and Flash Lux. RunAway played their most honest level of Overwatch. They went 2-1, taking two 3-0 wins over Fnatic and Flash Lux and losing 0-3 to KongDoo. Season 2 saw RunAway’s rise to not only a playoff caliber team, but a team that could make some serious power moves in the standings.

Leading into the playoffs, RunAway drew their group with Team EnVyUs, Lunatic-Hai, and KongDoo Uncia. After taking a fairly easy win over KongDoo Uncia, RunAway then made the upset of the tournament when they defeated Lunatic-Hai 3-2 to qualify for the semi-finals of their first major tournament. RunAway took on LuxuryWatch Blue (LW Blue) and had an absolute barnburner of a best of five. Each map going the distance, even to the extent that LW Blue managing to make a miracle run on Route 66 in a crazy overtime push to cap both points A and B. RunAway would take the victory and would have wait on the match between Lunatic-Hai and Meta Athena to start preparation on their grand finals run. Lunatic-Hai, in a similar fashion to the RunAway versus LW Blue game, squeaked out a 3-2 win over the creative hopefuls from Meta Athena.

Not only did RunAway have a solid record against Lunatic-Hai leading into the grand final, across the board, RunAway had an equal to or greater win rate on every map in the grand final. Map for map, RunAway was slightly favored leading into the culmination of the second season of APEX. In the grand final, RunAway managed to take a convincing lead 2-0 in the best of seven, but due to some unforeseen technical difficulties and complications with grapes, RunAway started to fatigue. Each match was a little more painful than the next, to the degree that RunAway even managed to not take a single point on Dorado after a stellar Attack round from Lunatic-Hai. About a month prior to their heartbreaking loss to the eventual champions, RunAway beat Lunatic-Hai 3-2 in the playoffs - and it all slipped through their fingers, like flour through a sieve.

With the coach, leader, and founder of RunAway, Yoon "Runner" Dae-hoon stating publicly that he will be serving his compulsory military service this January, one has to wonder; is this the beginning of the end for RunAway? This is not the only change in the roster that has happened as of late. Their main tank and star Reinhardt player, Ryu "Kaiser" Sang-hoon has been reported to be leaving the team for undisclosed reasons. After fueling RunAway through his own pocketbook, Runner has finally secured some financial sponsorship and was able to give his team their very own team house. The question remains: how long can this last before it’s maybe a bit unfeasible or logistically unsound? I don’t want this to come across as a doomsayer screaming into the void — I actually enjoy RunAway as much as the next Overwatch fan — but all I’m doing is putting a voice to what everyone else is silently dreading.

Much like a controlled wildfire is needed for certain flowers and fauna to germinate and flourish, maybe it’s best to see what the team looks like after a structural breakdown. After the team is stripped down to its individual elements, it is possible they can continue to shine on as catalysts for another team. Maybe the end of one era is the beginning of a handful of new ones; who is really to say for sure? RunAway were nearly the protagonists at the top of Korean Overwatch, but they will always remain the protagonists in the hearts and minds of all of the fans they’ve made across the world.

Either way, the future will be a fickle mistress for RunAway and the only thing that will remain constant is that they are long overdue for a victory.

Joseph “Volamel” Franco has followed esports since the MLG’s of 2006. He started out primarily following Starcraft 2, Halo 3, and Super Smash Bros. Melee. He has transitioned from viewer to journalist and writes freelance primarily about Overwatch and League of Legends. If you would like to know more or follow his thoughts on esports you can follow him at @Volamel.

Images courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment and OGN.