MVPs of Overwatch Open

Overwatch is very much a team game. The interplay of abilities, positioning, and teamfights creates a dynamic where teamwork is the most valuable asset for a side - but there are still times for individuals to shine.

Misfits were clearly shown to be the best team at the recent Overwatch Open, but this was not simply because they had all the best players on their roster. The trophy, title, and $100,000 are their rewards for being the best overall team at the tournament, but it is also important to recognise the individual players who outshone the competition or at times the rest of their team.

The tournament was effectively divided into two halves: the hyper-competitive European side which eventually produced the winner, and the North American side which saw EnVyUs dominate, only challenged to a moderate level by Fnatic. As there was only one instance of the two halves clashing, namely in the Grand Final when EnVyUs took on Misfits, it is difficult to accurately compare talents across regions.

Nevertheless I will be constructing my personal MVP European and North American rosters - based solely on their individual performances in the Overwatch Open and ignoring any synergy or teamwork aspects for the final six - then attempting to combine them for an overall MVP team.

The way I chose to format the teams was by selecting two dps players, a flex, a tank, and two supports (not distinguishing between primary and secondary as many players flirted with both). There are obviously other ways one could categorise roles within a team and certainly some teams do not conform to this, but it remains the most popular way of allocating roles.

Without sabermetrics or replays in Overwatch this process is even more subjective than usual, and I would welcome a discussion on the decisions I’ve made in this piece. I have watched the tournament at least twice since its conclusion and tried to apply a keen eye to player performance, and I’ll be giving my reasons for each pick along with any notable candidates I didn’t choose.

European MVP team

DPS:

ShaDowBurn

To say that ShaDowBurn was an MVP for his team is an understatement. We did not get to see him play at the Atlantic Showdown but he certainly turned up at his first major LAN, always providing star talent for his team and sometimes dragging them through maps with his consistent damage and high-impact ultimates. While TwoEasy’s peaks and dips correlated to the team's own, the excellent base that FaZe’s attack stood upon was provided by ShaDowBurn. He played to his strengths despite the non-meta picks and delivered massively on Genji and Pharah.

Nevix

Nevix’s flexibility and talent on a huge range of heroes was the driving force behind Misfits’ tournament victory. He played Mei for most of the tournament, constantly shutting down attacks, blocking off supports, picking out targets, and hitting a ton of damage with right-clicks. Nevix picked up McCree when his team needed the firepower and whipped out Reaper and Zarya when SoOn and Kryw were in different roles. He performed admirably on all.

While SoOn was certainly credited with most of the eliminations, Nevix on Mei was arguably more vital than the Reaper to Misfits playstyle. The composition was their bread and butter for the tournament and their recipe for the downfall of NiP. His ability to read the timing and position of the enemy to place a vital wall, as well as being a powerhouse on dps heroes when needed, won him the MVP.

Flex:

Kryw

Kryw constantly showed his prowess on Zarya throughout the tournament. His displays were always solid and sometimes verged on the insane. Whenever he graced the camera he appeared to be fully charged, laying out as much damage as his dps players and hitting important ultimates to wipe the opposition. He also hit some of the best saving bubbles onto hooked opponents or those in similar dire straits, ensuring that he was fed and his team stayed alive. Although it was a notable rigid flex performance, with Kryw on Zarya for almost all of the tournament, he had flashes of brilliance playing Reaper on Control and his mastery of the Russian bodybuilder made sure he carried his weight and more.

Another player I think that deserves an honourable mention is NiP’s Hymzi. His Roadhog was a crucial cog in the NiP machinery and he found the hook to open up a fight time and time again. Without his ability to hook such a great percentage of targets, NiP would have lacked the ability to initiate and get the tank momentum rolling. Despite not winning the tournament, they came nail-bitingly close to a finals appearance and Hymzi was a big part of that run.

Tank:

FCTFCTN

Ironically, my European MVP team contains an American on tank. Coming into the tournament, Fact Fiction hadn’t shown the upper levels of his tank ability. After being knocked down to the lower bracket by Dignitas, FCTFCTN went wild in every sense. His Winston play was easily the best of the tournament, perfectly playing off ShaDowBurn to give his team space and distraction when needed. When he switched over to Reinhardt he had a solid but aggressive style and held himself up as a force on both. While there were a couple of tanks who certainly contested this spot, I gave it to FCTFCTN as I was mightily impressed by the work he was able to achieve on Winston despite the style requiring a lot more coordination to pull off.

ryb impressed massively with his performance, outshining all expectations and reaffirming his reputation as a LAN god. It is a real shame that this particular lineup of Misfits could only last for an instant, though skipjack and ryb should both find success in their respective teams after this. fragi must also be lauded for the responsibility he took on in the NiP lineup, taking Nanoboosts when most teams were using Reaper and delivering many times.

Support:

Zebbosai

The support MVPs were some of the hardest to determine, as they rarely get camera time outside of ultimates. Nevertheless I feel confident placing Zebbosai as one of the support MVPs based on his good movement and his team’s excellent decision-making and engagement. Misfits often won teamfights and pushes in the first five seconds of a fight. Between Nevix putting up a key wall and Zebbosai calling to engage and focus key targets, they took many fights with their timing and fast, decisive kills.

Hidan

Hidan stepped up in a huge way, unleashing his potential in a top team. Everybody will remember his clutch Ana sleep darts at the end of the game against Rogue but he was hitting damage and heals all throughout the tournament and his positioning made it difficult for Misfits to be punished. Misfits’ decision to run Zenyatta more than a number of other top teams gave them extra damage and potential for instantly game-changing Transcendences, and their trial support came up with the goods.

This makes my EU MVP team:

ShaDowBurn

Nevix

Kryw

FCTFCTN

Zebbosai

Hidan

North American MVP team

DPS

Taimou

Taimou was again a force for his team and easily the best player on dps on the North American side. His play on McCree and Reaper was excellent but it was when he went onto Roadhog that he absolutely dominated for his team. In the Grand Finals, he single-handedly took his team to a win with his immense hook percentage and therefore free kills.

His carry ability on a range of heroes puts him above talents like iddqd in my mind, despite the Swede’s amazing consistency yet again on McCree and solid Mei. I think he also outshined his partner Talespin, who disappeared in many maps and didn’t have enough superstar talent for his team to pull off a single dps composition.

buds

If you had to point at a single Reaper who made the absolute most of this meta, it would be buds. Granted, he was mostly styling on North American teams who are less coordinated than the absolute top of the West, but his timing was impeccable. In almost every opportunity he was given, he came away with at least three kills and was able to plow through the backlines of his opponents. Yes, he was playing in a Reaper-centric meta and yes, he was given all the tools to succeed - but so were the other Reapers in the tournament and none came away with so many souls in their belt as buds.

Flex

coolmatt69

INTERNETHULK almost took this position for me with his solid Winston and Zarya, providing a backbone for EnVyUs, but coolmatt’s Zarya was incredible and just got better as the tournament progressed. While HULK was a real teamplayer and set the pace for his team’s engagements, coolmatt took matters into his own hands with the Particle Cannon and Graviton Surges. He was so slippery with his use of barriers and his hp pool to avoid death whilst still playing aggressive and shone even in map losses.

Tank

cocco

In classic Overwatch fashion, each of my MVP teams has a tank from the opposite region. cocco is very technically competent on Reinhardt and rarely gets caught out, and also doesn’t limit himself to one hero. EnVyUs knows that HULK’s Winston is more of a strength than cocco’s, and switch the latter onto Zarya when they need both for Control. Everyone on nV knows that the tanks have their back, letting them go for plays. cocco too had the most big plays on tank, hitting Earthshatters and Nanoboosts to give his team more power in teamfights.

Support

HarryHook

HarryHook has been a top two Lucio in the world for months, and despite not getting an opportunity to show off his hitscan aim much this tournament he still performed perfectly on Lucio and Mercy. EnVyUs’ teamwork and synergy is their main strength; they are excellent at negating enemy ults and coordinating their attacks and ultimate usage, and HarryHook is an important part of that trait. His movement is also insane and gives the team a good chance of delaying fights far longer than usual.

chipshajen

As a player who mastered Zenyatta, carried his skills onto Mercy, and then played a huge amount of Ana in the Overwatch Open, chipshajen has proved that he has the range of talents necessary to master any support. He was the best Ana at using his Biotic Grenade wisely to avoid flanks and to pile on damage in teamfights, as well as providing his team with rapid Nanoboosts and damage.

This makes my North American MVP team:

Taimou

buds

coolmatt69

cocco

HarryHook

chipshajen

Allstar MVP team

The final rosters make it slightly less difficult to combine the two MVP teams, since only two of the best NA players were not on the EnVyUs lineup that made it to the Grand Finals.

For the supports, I felt it was split between the regions. chipshajen’s abilities on Ana outclassed any of the other supports in the tournament and on the rare occassion he swapped to Zen or Mercy he was impeccable. The other role I had to give to Zebbosai. His calling pushed Misfits from a great team to the best team, and their execution was what separated them from the rest of the pack.

With tank and flex, the Europeans had it hands down. Kryw in particular was a monster on Zarya and added another dimension of damage and defensive support to his team. He legitimised his decision to specialise on Zarya by proving there is another level to the hero which only he hit during the Overwatch Open. FCTFCTN featured in fewer games than his MVP teammates, only reaching the EU Semifinals, but showed great understanding of how to get the most out of Winston and Reinhardt in his play, enough to take my vote for MVP tank.

The dps players that I thought shone the most in the tournament were Nevix and Taimou. With their versatility and amazing carry potential for their teams, they stole the show. There were a number of maps where they took their team almost single-handedly to a win, Taimou especially, and even though there were a number of other contenders for this title (ShaDowBurn, buds, SoOn, TviQ, etc.) I felt that Nevix and Taimou were the two most valuable dps players in the Overwatch Open.

My final MVP team for the Overwatch Open is: