Be honest. If the worst team in the league faced the top seed, who would you root for? I'd totally want an upset, a rise to victory 70%, 7 votes 7 votes 70% 7 votes - 70% of all votes

I'd definitely want to see the top team completely crush them 30%, 3 votes 3 votes 30% 3 votes - 30% of all votes Total Votes: 10 Voting is closed Poll Options are limited because JavaScript is disabled in your browser.

The comparison between esports and traditional sports still rages on, even though the former has been a mainstream thing for well over a decade. You’d think that by now people would be able to come to a consensus of some kind. Unfortunately, that’s still not the case. But amongst the many “pros” and “cons,” the never-ending listicles and juxtapositions, there’s one striking similarity that’s often being overlooked — the need for underdogs.

You can tune in and watch esports because you’re bored, or because you’ve got the time. You can tune in to watch because you want to see the best players in the world compete, some for glory, some for a sack of cash. But the biggest majority — the “roaring multitude” — tunes in because of the enticing narratives, because of the many underlying and fascinating storylines that define individuals and teams alike.

There’s really nothing as alluring and entertaining in esports as a good narrative. And, frankly, it doesn’t even matter who’s involved — any team or challenger can play the role of the underdog. If the odds are set against them, if no one’s giving them a shot, the need to tune in and watch exponentially rises.

People generally yearn for dominant streaks and champions of unparalleled strength, but even when that does come along, such a state of affairs tends to become boring sooner rather than later. There’s simply nothing overly exciting in watching a mismatch, a fight between two teams of dissimilar potential and talent. Sure, you’ll tune in and watch the blowout as much as the next person, but soon enough you’ll move on because there’s no intrigue, no mystery.

You know the outcome beforehand and, therefore, don’t have as big of a reason to watch.

This need for an overarching, multi-year-long narrative is inherent to all human beings. That’s why we all consume media: films, books, TV shows, and so on; that’s why we all sit around a campfire and listen to our elders speak of the way things were before. A good story is universal, and the story of David vs. Goliath is particularly tantalizing. We see and hear it in many different forms, and esports is certainly a fertile ground that can echo it regardless of the game played.

Esports players invest years of their lives in just a single title, and we often feel their seismic triumphs and crushing defeats as if they were our own. You and I might not be able to dunk or score a goal from fifty yards, but we know how it feels to land a couple of kills in quick succession, to deflect an incoming projectile, or to claw our way to victory even when the odds are set against us.

We’ve all done these things, and we know first-hand how it feels like when things go our way or when, conversely, they go awry. We know of the frustration that builds up when we miss a skillshot or when we’re getting styled on.

In many ways, we see ourselves in the ever-present esports underdog. Millions of dollars are being invested in the industry, and it’s becoming increasingly evident that esports is — more often than not — a game won by the team with the deepest pockets.

So whenever there’s a team that manages to defy the odds and upset the long-established status quo, we tend to watch on the edge of our seats.

These undervalued challengers don’t even have to win to get our undivided attention — that’s the best part. Even the slightest upset will do the trick. Esports needs underdogs as much as traditional sports. We all love watching the best and most talented players take the stage and blow our minds, but whenever they’re challenged by unlikely contenders, that’s when esports shine brightest.

Some of these underdogs end up being more memorable than others, but they all manage to etch themselves in our collective conscience.

Those who follow competitive League of Legends surely remember Albus Nox Luna, for example. A ragtag group of friends who dominated in the CIS region back in 2016. Coming into the World Championship, they were deemed as one of the worst teams in attendance.

They were at the end of the “food chain” and were supposed to be a negligible block in the road for many of the competitive League’s mainstays. Fortunately, no one at Albus Nox Luna got the memo. Not only did they reach the quarterfinals, but they beat both G2 Esports and Counter Logic Gaming to get there. Their Group Stage wins were mind-blowing — they went for the most insane and gutsy plays you could imagine and were often able to execute.

And their attire? Black oversized sweatshirts with badly printed sponsor logos. Albus Nox Luna looked more like a B-tier Iron Maiden tribute band than the CIS champions. They didn’t have much, but they made the world take notice nonetheless. Many years have passed, and yet their incredible run is still considered as an unavoidable part of competitive League’s folklore.

The same goes for VCS’s GIGABYTE Marines and their incredible showing at the 2017 Mid-Season Invitational. They were competing on stage with peripherals that — when combined — cost less than ten dollars, and yet they were throwing down with legends like Team SoloMid, G2 Esports, and Team WE.

Every esport needs an underdog or three

Overwatch underdogs, on the other hand, are perhaps even more prevalent and legendary primarily because the regular season lasts for so long. Everyone remembers back when Shanghai Dragons went 0W-40L in the inaugural season. It was a legendary run, but perhaps for all the wrong reasons.

After so many crushing losses, you started to root for them almost by default. It was an archetypal underdog story and you could see just how much they wanted that first elusive win. Unfortunately, it never came in time.

Their miraculous run through the 2019 Stage 3 playoffs, however, felt like they were finally being rewarded for their perseverance. They went through the New York Excelsior, Vancouver Titans, and the San Francisco Shock in order to get ahold of the Overwatch League throne (and $200,000). It was a triumph that simply boggled the mind. We also learned that, whenever the Dragons are involved, we should not search for logic or reason.

Today, however, most people are talking about a “historic” clash that happened last weekend in Washington.

All eyes were set on New York Excelsior and the Philadelphia Fusion, two heavyweight behemoths brimming with talent and potential. In many ways, they’re synonymous with the entire league, so it’s easy to understand if you weren’t excited for the clash that followed — a fight between two bottom-tier dwellers. In the end, however, it was the only match anyone talked about, and with good reason.

That one seven-map war of attrition blew us away, not because we saw the best players in the world duke it out, but rather because of the immense grit and resilience which were on display map after map, kill after kill. All of a sudden, once the chaos began, it didn’t matter that this wasn’t a fight between San Francisco and Vancouver, but rather a prolonged skirmish between two undervalued and underappreciated bottom-tier “pushovers.” Once they started trading heavy blows, it was as if everyone forgot that there was nothing worthy of mentioning on the line.

Boston and Houston, on the other hand, certainly fought like their lives were at stake. And we loved every second of it.

Boston prevailed in the end, in no small part because of Min “Jerry” Tae-hui’s incredible DPS play. It was an absolute slugfest and, frankly, it was often devoid of any top-tier play — as was expected. What wasn’t expected, however, was the amount of entertainment this one clash would bring.

Had someone told you that Boston and Houston would overshadow a fight between New York and Philadelphia, you would’ve probably laughed them out of the room.

Who knew that these two underdogs would entertain us just as much, if not even more than a clash between two seemingly equal giants? One can only hope that Boston Uprising and the Houston Outlaws take this Best of 7 for the ages in stride and use it as motivation. The Overwatch League has never failed to deliver when it came to underdogs and their miracle runs, and it seems like we should be in for one heck of a ride in 2020 as well.