The Overwatch Open Division returns to the Southeast Asian region for a second season, starting this month. In this Overwatch league, players of high SR’s (Masters and above) have the chance to form teams and showcase their Overwatch skills. With a Swiss-format group stage spanning 7 weeks, 22 teams have signed up to battle for a spot in the top 8. The top 8 teams then move on to the playoffs and fight for the championship. This season, there are 3 teams that represent the Philippines- the returning Mineski and the 2 newcomers: Miraculum and Fatal Faction.
Mineski Roster:
· 🇵🇭 Marvin Anthony “whome” Roque — DPS · 🇵🇭 Angelo “Meister” Martinez — Flex DPS · 🇵🇭 John Carlo “SuperLocs” Panlilo — Tank · 🇵🇭 Jerahmeel “Jorun” Ibasco — Tank · 🇵🇭 Gilbert “Gibo” Sales — Support · 🇵🇭 Dathan Allan Keanu “Daks” Rosales — Support · 🇰🇷 Harry “HAVENTLUVYOU” Lee — Flex Tank
Mineski was the only Filipino team that joined Season 1 of the Overwatch Open Divison. They finished with a record of 2 wins and 4 losses, with the last loss a bye. This was due to a roster issue, the departure of former captain Justin “Caladbolg” Limbo. This season, whome has picked up the captain’s chair, recruiting Daks to fill the support spot while Jorun moves to the tank role and Meister flexes to DPS. Besides those changes, HAVENTLUVYOU joins the team as a substitute. Will the role swaps and new leadership propel Mineski to a better record this season?
Miraculum Roster:
· 🇵🇭 Fil “Xenos” Mayor — DPS · 🇵🇭 Gian “Alaya” Santos — DPS · 🇵🇭 Joshua “Grand” Ogame — Flex · 🇵🇭 Yuuki “Fascinate” Tanaka — Tank · 🇵🇭 Zyrille King “Zyrille” Algenio — Support · 🇵🇭 Dexter “Daily420” Paglinawan — Support
Miraculum stemmed from a strong backbone of the Blast Vikings, the first runner-up team in the Heroes Uprising 2017 tournament. The quartet of Xenos, Alaya, Grand, and Daily420 stuck together and called on 2 veterans of the local Overwatch scene- Fascinate and Zyrille. Fascinate, known formerly as YXKI, was part of the Imperium Pro Team and Team Philippines for last year’s Overwatch World Cup. Zyrille also has quite the pedigree, known for his Support play in Team ANBU and the first incarnation of Mineski. Will the addition of these two veterans to lead the team propel Miraculum to the top of the local and regional Overwatch scene?
Fatal Faction Roster:
· 🇵🇭 Rjonne “Feint” Ortiz — DPS · 🇵🇭 Jeano “Shiro” Paguirin — DPS · 🇵🇭 Arhundbian “Stroby” Rojas — Tank · 🇵🇭 JM “DreadRaven07” Paed — Tank · 🇵🇭 Emmanuel “Emhun” Gabriel — Support · 🇵🇭 Robin “DayWatser” Gonzales — Support · 🇹🇭 Panut “Proxu” Sudram — DPS · 🇸🇬 Jianpu “Mariachi” Lee — Tank
Fatal Faction is a team built from a mixture of two former teams, Sapnu Puas and the remnants of Blast Vikings. With strong players in each role, this team wants to prove that they can hang around with the best the region has to offer. In addition to the Filipino roster, Proxu and Mariachi were both added to the team to bolster the roster and act as substitutes when needed. Will Fatal Faction provide an underdog’s tale in this tournament’s narrative?
The Overwatch Open Division Season 2 will run for the months of September and October this year. Each of these 3 teams will face another team of the region on the weekends of these two months. With the amount of talent coming from the rosters of these Filipino teams, it could be possible for at least one of them to reach the playoffs.