Mihail Cristian "Meza" Paunescu has been on the grind that is Overwatch since early on in 2017. The former LDLC and Complexity member now resides in team Bazooka Puppiez attempting to blast their way into Overwatch Contenders Season 2. Meza stopped by Esports Heaven to talk about his thoughts on certain tank heroes in Overwatch, his time with team Romania during the Overwatch World Cup, and much more!

Talk to me about Meza before Overwatch. Let’s get to know the man, behind the name. Was there another game you played at a high level? Were you competitive in school, maybe in a sport?

To be honest I never really attempted to be pro in any game, never seen it as something worth trying hard for until I randomly received a closed beta key for Overwatch. Originally I wasn’t planning anything with Overwatch either until I trialed with a team built by Klanton and I noticed that I was doing very well against teams that were considered good back then so I decided to give it a shot and see where it would lead me, I don’t regret that decision one bit :D . I played football at a club for about 2-3 years when I was in school and played some chess too but I decided to abandon them both once I got closer to joining high school.

I’ve done a few interviews now and the Bazooka Puppiez have seemed to leave a lasting impression on teams behind the scenes. What are some of your goals coming into Overwatch Contenders?

We’re definitely planning to qualify for the Contenders LAN, by the looks of it with the practice results we have so far, there’s a good chance at making it but of course, there are still 2 months till then and a lot can change. There are some other new teams that seem to improve really quick so I’m sure this Contenders season is going to be much more interesting to watch than the last one.

Tanks have been something that I’ve always personally struggled with trying to analyze. How would you define a good tank from a bad tank?

I think for most people tanks are much harder to judge than other roles. For me, it’s easier to judge a Reinhardt player more than a Winston. One thing that many Reinhardt players do wrong is they backpedal a lot, the moment they lose a bit of HP they’re backing off and they give away their position placing their whole team in a corner, the fight is usually lost at that point. A good one will keep the aggression as long as possible, you’re a big chunk of metal with a rocket hammer.

When it comes to Winston you have to abuse his mobility, getting on the high ground, annoying the enemy plus keeping the pressure by making them think you’re always close to them and ready to engage. A bad one will allow the enemy to get as much space as possible without making them waste any time or any abilities to push him back. Ultimate usage can be important to, some panic and just use it once they go low hp even if the fight is mostly won or they just jump around without really creating any chaos for the enemies or peeling for their backline by pushing the divers away. One thing that’s difficult to see when watching a Winston is that sometimes it’s hard to perform if there’s just no chemistry between players in certain teams and it can be a mess.

We all know that tanks create space and relieve pressure or sometimes even create it, but what do you think is the most overlooked aspect of playing as the main tank?

Survivability seems to be an aspect that not many notices too much. Being able to go in, annoy/kill the enemy and then get out alive during a fight puts an immense amount of pressure on the opposing team.

Once one of your biggest strengths as a main tank? What do you feel like you excel at as a player?

My aggressive play style, especially when I’m on Reinhardt. The only thing at the moment I feel like in this meta with Junkrat and spamming, in general, makes it harder to see the differences between tanks since they have to play very defensive and they only have a small window where they can make their own plays.

Meza on Team LDLC from DreamHack Winter 2016

Something I’ve been thinking about, is that in this new metagame, the tanks and the supports may be tested more than they have in the past. I think with maps like Junkertown and with the addition of new tanks and supports to the game, these roles are becoming less defined and becoming a little more “bendable”. Would you agree with that? What are some of your thoughts about that?

I honestly enjoy the fact that our classes might become a bit more flexible, it makes the game more interesting to watch and more fun to play. Obviously it can also be problematic if we have to start mastering heroes that are way more different than what we’re usually used to like for example if Blizzard decides to release a hitscan tank that requires really good aim, I’m not sure how many of us would be able to master that since most of the focus went into heroes that barely require any aim. Teams might end up picking more specialists as subs to cover for these new heroes.

Primal Rage is one of the most liberally used ultimates in the game, we’ve seen so many different styles of using it. Sometimes it’s used to stall carts, sometimes it’s used to go aggressive, and other times it’s used more defensive. Where do you think this ultimate ability shines the most or where do you think it is the most effective?

I enjoy it the most when it comes to the aggressive part, you can do so much damage to the 200 hp heroes if you manage to throw them in a corner they’re going to die really quick. Mercy sometimes makes that job a bit harder but it’s still manageable.

When it comes to stalling carts I believe it’s the least effective in many situations, I have seen many tanks including myself using it when the fight is 100% lost and the delay would only be for 3 more seconds, it usually ends up feeding the other team their ultimates so you have to be very careful when it comes to that.

Another ultimate that is a bit underrated is Orissa’s Supercharger. As a high-level tank players, what are your thoughts on Supercharger as an ability? Where do you think it should be used?

We only use her against specific teams and only on certain maps so my experience is limited with her besides when I also play her in competitive mode(but people play against her differently there). I think the supercharger should be used right after your team is engaged on so the focus won’t be instantly on the bongo, you can use your shield on a side for it and your body to defend the rest.

Now you did get the opportunity to travel to Shanghai to represent your country in 2017’s Overwatch World Cup. What was that experience like? Was there anything that you wish you could have done, but missed out on?

I loved Shanghai, it was a really cool place, the people were friendly and the food was great, it was also my first time in Asia so it was an interesting experience, I hope I will decide to travel there again one day as a tourist. We were also lucky to get a nice person hired by Blizzard from Banana Culture that guided us around and prepared us for everything that we were supposed to do, a really friendly guy that has done a lot to make our experience enjoyable.

One thing that I wish we had more time for is to visit more parts of the city, the schedule was tight, there were a lot of things that we had to do so we usually ended up back at our hotel late in the evening.

Talking about Overwatch Contenders, what made you want to team or sign with Bazooka Puppiez? What was it about the team that drew you to them in particular?

We are getting this a lot haha. Bazooka Puppiez isn’t an organization, it was us, the players from Season 0 that just came up with 3 names, we voted on them it ended up as a 2-2-2 so I used random.org and we got Bazooka Puppiez, this name was Ube’s idea, then I paid someone to create the logo. We’re looking for an organization to sign us though for this season so thanks for asking, maybe it will clarify it for more people :D

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, DreamHack, and Banana Culture.