over.gg Oceanic Rankings: 27th May - 10th July, 2017

It's been nearly two months since we last took a trip down under to pay the Oceanic region a visit in the inaugural over.gg Oceanic Rankings. Since then a myriad of roster changes have taken place, as well as two major LAN events, so buckle in for some big changes.

BobbyJ, face, genome, Grafix, Project, Smashbrutha and CantuS return as our expert panel, analysing the results from the past two months of play in the Oceanic region. Their votes are then averaged out to create a list of the top ten teams. To be eligible for the rankings teams must be active and retain a core of at least four players. The LAN finals of the ESL ANZ Championship and the CyberGamer OCE Circuit, CyberGamer Weeklies and the Overwatch Open Division are the events taken into account in this set of rankings. The Australia New Zealand Open Division features the region's best teams, acting as a consistent form of tournament play in a region that sometimes lacks officials for teams to play in.

As usual, Blank Esports did not qualify for the rankings due to their absence from Oceanic events as they were competing in the Pacific Championship.

Rankings

Masterminds GC at the CyberGamer Lan Finals. Image credit: CyberGamer

1st CyberGamer OCE Circuit

3rd ESL ANZ Championship

1-0 Overwatch Open Division

When Blank Esports flew out to Taiwan for the Pacific Championship, Masterminds GC and Plot 1 were considered to the top two teams remaining in Australia. Both failed to meet these expectation initially, faltering in online play as Athletico CAMO and 4Legs improved dramatically. Masterminds have managed to find their groove after making changes, earning a LAN title and now the number one spot on the over.gg Oceanic Rankings.

Mastermind's third place finish in the ESL ANZ Championship is a difficult result to assess. Shot-caller and support player CantuS was unable to attend the LAN playoffs due to passport issues, leading to Project, normally a player for Scylla Esports, subbing in for the LAN. However, Masterminds did manage to place above Plot 1, despite CantuS' absence.

The team made roster changes post ESL LAN, with nectar and SoundWaves departing to make way for Hus and WILLx. Showcasing their new DPS duo and a passport-holding CantuS, Masterminds rocked the CyberGamer OCE Circuit LAN Finals, winning the event with only a single map loss. New players Hus and WILLx meshed with the roster flawlessly, as Masterminds finally lived up to expectations.

Masterminds did not apply for the Pacific Championship Season 2 Qualifiers, with an official announcement stating that the entire roster wasn't willing to commit to the lengthy tournament in Taiwan, and will continue to compete in Australia.

4Legs at the ESL ANZ Championship LAN. Image credit: @gg4Legs

2nd ESL ANZ Championship

2nd CyberGamer OCE Circuit

1st CyberGamer Weekly - July 6th

1-0 Overwatch Open Division

4Legs had an impressive showing at the ESL and CyberGamer LAN events but were unable to secure a first place finish. Thus, they slide into second place on the rankings.

4Legs climbed out of the lower bracket at both LAN events, defeating Masterminds 3-0 in the ESL Championship and reverse sweeping WillWEED 3-2 in the CyberGamer Circuit. While an impressive accomplishment in its own right to compete in the grand final of multiple LAN events, 4Legs failure to win an upper bracket put the team at a disadvantage that they were not able to overcome.

Athletico CAMO received a bracket reset as a reward for defeating 4Legs in the upper bracket of the ESL ANZ Championship. Thus, despite 4Legs finishing the final with more map wins, Athletico proved victorious after winning the second best-of-five. Similarly, Masterminds received a one map point advantage in the grand final of the CyberGamer OCE Circuit, aiding them in their 3-1 win over 4Legs.

Removing Wuvo and adding yuki may be the change that 4Legs needed to break their streak of second place finishes and overtake Masterminds on the rankings. Nevertheless, 4Legs will be one of the favorites going into any future tournaments.

Image credit: Masterminds GC

1-0 Overwatch Open Division

Masterminds Blue may be a new face on the rankings but dedicated fans of oceanic Overwatch will recognize three players from WillWeed, who were fifth in our last set of rankings. After placing third at the CyberGamer OCE Circuit LAN, upsetting ESL Champions Athletico CAMO in the process, Knellery, Macyn and Dalsu were joined by birdy, tails and ColourHex to form Masterminds Blue.

We've had limited opportunities to witness Mastermind's newest roster in action, with a single game in the Overwatch Open Division being the teams only fixture in the allotted time period. However, the fall of Plot 1 and changes to Athletico's Overwatch division has made way for MM.Blue. The team will have to prove itself in future matches to justify the hype.

3rd-4th CyberGamer Weekly - July 6th

1-0 Open Division

Edit: Athletico Gold are no longer affiliated with the organisation, now known as Space Retrievers.

Athletico originally only fielded one Overwatch roster, which attended both LAN events and took home 1st place in the ESL ANZ Championship. A mutual decision was made between the players for the roster to split two ways, influenced heavily by the age requirement and strong commitment required to attend future seasons of the Pacific Championship.

Athletico Gold features Grafix and Kura from the original Athletico roster, joined by Wuvo, Nesty, Mooney and Christoph. Gold fell to 4Legs in the semifinal of the CyberGamer Weekly on July the sixth and swept Mackerel in their first game in the Overwatch Open Division.

The roster has ambitious plans for the future and will work towards these goals by attempting to reach the top level of domestic competition in the Oceanic region. Grafix and Kura led project team Monopoly Club to the top of Australian Overwatch under the Athletico banner in the space of a few months earlier this year, the question is can they do it again with their new roster?

1st ESL ANZ Championship

4th CyberGamer OCE Circuit

1st CyberGamer Weekly - June 27th

2nd CyberGamer Weekly - July 6th

1-0 Overwatch Open Division

Athletico Black are the other team produced by the split, with Smashbrutha and Ahren joining the four remaining players from the original roster. Athletico Black were neck in neck with Gold in our panel votes, an indication of how neither roster has yet fully proven itself after the split.

Black certainly have the talent to reclaim the number one spot in the rankings, with four ESL champions on the roster. On the other hand, the team also has four members of the Athletico roster that finished last at the CyberGamer LAN.

The team has placed first and second in recent CyberGamer Weeklies, encouraging results for the newly formed roster. When the players' talent is fully utilized Athletico Black will be able to beat any team currently playing in Oceanic Overwatch. The challenge lies in finding consistency after changing up a roster that had remained relatively the same for months.

6th: The Project [NEW]

2nd CyberGamer Weekly - June 27th

3rd-4th CyberGamer Weekly - July 6th

0-1 Overwatch Open Division

The Project are a new team in the scene, with three members from the now deceased Defuse roster. The squad has had positive results in recent CyberGamer Weeklies, placing second on the 27th of June. Whilst The Project has separated itself from the lower ranked teams, the players have yet to secure a win against top tier competition, most recently falling 4-1 to Masterminds Blue in the Open Division. They remain a wildcard, with the potential to compete at the top but lacking the results to be ranked any higher.

7th: thanks [NEW]

1st CyberGamer Weekly - June 6th

1-0 Overwatch Open Division

A perfect record for thanks is somewhat deceptive, as they competed in a watered down CyberGamer Weekly in which none of the top teams were present. Victories over lower ranked teams in the weekly, combined with a win to start off the team's Open Division play is enough to secure them seventh on the rankings. With limited results to assess, thanks' future is hard to predict.

8th: PandEye Coordination [NEW]

1st CyberGamer Weekly - 30th May

1-0 Overwatch Open Division

In a similar situation to thanks, PandEye Coordination's limited tournament play has resulted in a lower rank. Victories over Vizard, Rich Gang and Mutiny suggest that the team may have what it takes to compete at the upper echelons but this will remain speculation for now. PandEye also started off their participation in the Open Division with a victory.

9th: Rich Gang [NEW]

1st CyberGamer Weekly - June 20th

3rd-4th CyberGamer Weekly - 30th May

3rd-4th CyberGamer Weekly - June 27th

0-1 Overwatch Open Division

Unlike the two teams ranked above them, Rich Gang have a wealth of results for us to judge. Losses to PandEye and The Project in CyberGamer Weeklies hurt the team's chances of being ranked any higher. However, Rich Gang have been consistent participants in Oceanic Overwatch the past few months and are rewarded for their hard work with the second last spot on the rankings.

10th: Riotous [-1]

3rd-4th CyberGamer Weekly - 30th May

3rd-4th CyberGamer Weekly - June 6th

3rd-4th CyberGamer Weekly - June 20th

1-0 Overwatch Open Division

Riotous have also been diligent participants in Oceanic Overwatch, competing in three CyberGamer Weekly's and entering the Overwatch Open Division. Although falling to tenth in this edition of the Oceanic Rankings, Riotous had a significant amount of votes over rival teams for the last spot on the rankings.

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Scylla Esports, previously rank six, are noticeably absent from the list of teams, due to their lack of participation in tournament play since the conclusion of the CyberGamer OCE Circuit. The team has entered a rebuilding phase and will reveal its new-look roster in the coming weeks.

The second season of the CyberGamer OCE Circuit is set to begin next month, although the details of the tournament have not yet been revealed. Qualification for the circuit will be a key factor in the makeup of the next set of rankings, so be sure to keep an eye out for further details. CyberGamer Weeklies will continue to be run, often streamed by BobbyJ at twitch.tv/the_bobbyj, as well as the Open Division which will be streamed at twitch.tv/aussiegamingtv.

Many thanks to uberchain for creating the Oceanic Rankings banner!