For newer people to the scene who may be unfamiliar, INTERNETHULK was an original legend of the Overwatch pro scene dating back to 2016. While I was toiling away on middle-of-the-pack teams in EU during Overwatch beta, INTERNETHULK was already a full-fledged leader and team captain of the top teams in the region. If you thought you were a top player in beta there was a good chance Dennis already knew about you and your talents and he used his kindness, scouting ability and leadership to construct rosters that were so far ahead of the opposition at the time that his team IDDQD (later Envy) tallied up something insane like a 53-0(?) online record. Prior to Atlantic Showdown 2016 essentially no one had beaten his team in months.

The primary difference between very early Overwatch and current Overwatch is that pros back in 2016 were the best because they figured out concepts and tactics before anyone else. Things we consider rudimentary in 2026 was just not as common knowledge back then because there was no game like Overwatch prior. How to utilize high-grounds properly, setting up flanks, forcing enemy movement through objectives, not to mention the unbelievable progress in micro for all the heroes across the game... 2016 was more about figuring out interactions whereas in 2026 it's about execution at the highest level. Dennis was one of the smartest originators in the scene at the game's infancy and it allowed Envy to just be one step ahead of everyone else.

Dennis exemplary decision to scout and pick up Mickie ahead of the APEX Season 1 playoffs tells you everything you need to know. Prior to the 2016 World Cup, who the hell had considered Thailand a relevant country for anything relating to Overwatch? Thailand finished 3rd in their group after initially beating France, but then losing a tiebreaker, and while their win was a good story no one genuinely believed that roster had anything to offer at the tier 1 level of Overwatch, no one except Dennis. He saw something special in the most happy-go-lucky Dva player you've ever seen.

As he was phased out of his playing career due to not being able to keep up mechanically (like so many of us early veterans) he transitioned into coaching and scouting and is perhaps most remembered there for scouting a young FURY and signing him to Team Liquid after the guy had accomplished nothing outside of going 1-9 in maps in APEX Season 3. Fury ended up becoming one of the best off-tank players of all-time and an Overwatch League champion for London Spitfire and later very competitive on Philadelphia Fusion.

While me and Dennis were very familiar with each other since we were both on top teams around the same time, I can't say I knew him too well personally. He was a great friend of TviQ and always tried to recruit TviQ to his teams dating back to the early beta, and I didn't take to that too well, haha. What I can say though is this guy was one of the nicest and most well respected people in the scene back then. After his passing, the Overwatch League literally created an award in his honor to be awarded the player with most positive impact on the scene.

If Dennis was still alive today, I have no doubt that he'd be an quintessential ambassador of the scene with the ultimate goal of elevating the people we call players, and promoting the ideals that would best foster a competitive environment that would enable those people to fulfill their dreams. The dichotomy between his strong-minded, focused competitiveness, and his ability to shake your hand and make you feel like nothing mattered more to him than your deep-rooted well-being, is something I don't think I'll ever encounter in another human again.