As the Overwatch League is still forming, the top teams of the NA and EU regions are proving their worth in the Overwatch Contenders league. Showing that they are the best of the best, the teams play to win as the cities of the Overwatch League are looking for representatives. The $100,000 prize pool, for each region, is icing on the cake for these players. From August 19 to September 24, the highlight of the end of the week will be intense Overwatch action from the best.
Day 1, Week 1 Results of the Overwatch Contenders League.
The story of the day were upsets galore. In the first EU match-up, the revamped roster of Misfits took on Cloud9. Cloud 9 had no answer to the damage coming from Misfits, especially from Johan “CWoosH” Klingestedt, Andreas “Logix” Berghmans, and the flexibility of Kevyn “TviQ” Lindström. While Cloud9’s Andreas “Nevix” Karlsson tried to carry his team, Cloud9 still fell in all four maps. The second match-up saw the Season Zero EU Champion eUnited take on Team Gigantti. Team Gigantti surprised everyone by winning the first map, Nepal. They then took the next two maps with the narrowest of margins, picking up the series. On the last map, eUnited reminded everyone of their strength, with Harrison “Kruise” Pond and the rest of his team putting a strong show on Watchpoint: Gibraltar. The third match-up of the day, and the first NA set of games, were between the juggernauts of EnVyUs and the Season Zero NA Champion Immortals. Many pegged this match to be a contested one, but EnVyUs dominated the games with great play from the team. Amazing picks from EnVyUs’ Timo “Taimou” Kettunen and Kim “EFFECT” Hyeon proved that their team’s return to the NA region was one headed straight to the top.
The final match-up was between the heavy favorite of the tournament, Rogue, against EnVision eSports. EnVision eSports acquired their slot in the Contenders League from the exiting Team Liquid. At the start of the first map, Lijiang Tower, it looked like Rogue was going to dominate the game. But with solid play, led by Caleb “McGravy” McGarvey, EnVision eSports took the first map. Rogue then looked to qualm their fans’ fears with a strong win on the second map of Numbani. With the score tied 1–1, EnVision eSports proved their mettle by holding Rogue for 7 minutes on Volskaya Industries, and then on Watchpoint: Gibraltar. Rogue’s regional winning streak came to an end and they left the servers immediately after the match.
Doomfist is here, and he has already made an impact in the meta.
With the new Doomfist patch in play, the interest to many viewers was how the Meta would shape up. While the Dive composition was still the go-to lineup, Doomfist play proved very effective. Both Misfits and EnVyUs showed the power of the Rocket Punch, and the effectiveness of the hero cemented the new Public Test Region reductions to his hitbox to be reasonable. Team Gigantti was also not afraid to change the meta up with the Reinhardt play on Nepal. Paired with Zarya, the two tanks shut down the enemy D.Va. Sombra play was also featured, with frequents picks on many maps, particularly Volskaya Industries. Widowmaker was also played on Watchpoint: Gibraltar by EnVyUs and eUnited, to a strong initial attack.
The Overwatch Contenders League has already proved to be an interesting event to watch, on its first day alone. Many more upsets and amazing plays await. The players and teams are giving it everything they have to secure their spot in the inaugural Overwatch League. With such a high level of competition, the Contenders League is sure to entertain the fans and build hype for the Overwatch League.