McGravy, team captain of Envision, talks to his teammates during a game. Image from Blizzard Entertainment.

Team Envy, the parent organisation of Overwatch League team Dallas Fuel, has just announced its signing of the former Envision roster for Contenders Season 2, generating much hype and fanfare in the process. The team will comprise iShiny, McGravy, Buds, Talespin, Crimzo and Fire. But why exactly did Envy choose to participate in Contenders? How was the release of the Envision roster a major opportunity for Team Envy?

Let’s start with a bit of background. Envision was one of the mainstays of Overwatch before the OWL, and finished 3–4th in both NA Contenders Season 1 (which the original Envy, now Dallas Fuel roster won) and NA Contenders Season 2. This was all while being part of a much less well-known organisation as compared to giants such as Envy and Faze Clan. After the team was released with their owner citing concerns with how the Tier 2 scene was being treated, the team began to look for another organisation that they could sign with to keep their spot.

Enter, therefore, Team Envy. The 5 players from Envision who had stayed together to look for an organisation were signed. Ronnie ‘Talespin’ DuPree, one of the original members of the EnvyUs squad that would go on to become the Dallas Fuel and the OG Pharah player who is considered by many to have catalysed the widespread adoption of Pharah play competitively, was added to the squad in a move that instantly created an almost ridiculous amount of hype around the team.

What benefits does this move bring to the Envy organisation and the Dallas Fuel? Beginning with more mundane matters, the new ability to transfer players between the active roster in the OWL and their academy team for OWL Season 2 conferred upon teams by Blizzard makes the idea of having a Contenders roster more appealing. Many teams currently have some players who do not play a majority of games / are used only in niche situations, including the Fuel, who barely played cocco and chipshajen at all during their Stage 4 run. The Contenders roster would therefore allow them to give these players some competitive play instead of merely playing ranked all day as Dallas do not currently have enough players to run internal scrims. Not only that, but there is the potential of moving some players from the Contenders roster up to the main OWL roster; while no academy team has done so as yet, the possibility is always there, and allows the Fuel to have another weapon in their arsenal.

Continuing with that train of thought, Hastr0 also highlighted in his explanation video that it would be possible for the Fuel and the Team Envy roster to run internal scrims against each other, further improving the quality of play for both teams beyond what could be achieved with a B team. For example, if the Fuel come up with a new strategy, scrimming with the ‘A’ and ‘B’ teams will not be as effective as the team attempting to counter the strategy will know what it is beforehand, having been involved in the team discussions. Testing it out on the Team Envy roster would therefore give more useful feedback.

Hastr0, owner and CEO of Team Envy and Dallas Fuel, explains the move to sign a Contenders roster.

Finally, with Envision having achieved very respectable results in Contenders S1 and 2, Envy could find more competitive success in the Overwatch scene, and more prize money is never a bad thing.

But now let’s move on to more practical things. Team Envy wants as much as possible to maintain the Overwatch competitive scene, given its massive success and impressive amount of prize money won. Not only that, but the fans gained due to the Overwatch team’s success can also be major sources of revenue, such as through jersey sales, fan content (such as this article), fan interactions, etc.

The exit of Envision raised major issues about the sustainability of Overwatch competitions below OWL level, i.e. Contenders and Open Division. There had already been murmurings of discontent about the tiny amount of support Blizzard provided to the developmental leagues compared to the OWL. If even such an established roster as Envision was facing financial difficulties and struggled to turn a profit, where would the incentive for other eSports organisations to invest come from? With the entry fee for OWL already being $20m for Season 1, Contenders would be the only affordable route for an eSports organisation to enter the Overwatch scene.

Team Envy’s picking up of Envision therefore represents a breath of life into the T2 scene in such a time. Not only did it draw attention away from the potential problems that continue to exist in the T2 scene, it indeed counteracted the bad publicity generated by breathing a new sense of optimism into Overwatch. It sent a signal that if Envy, one of the biggest names in eSports, was ready to stake its brand name and reputation on Contenders, then other organisations should consider doing so as well. The move also showcases to players, organisations and teams that the T2 scene is still viable and worth trying for, as well as motivating current players in the scene to continue working hard to try and make it to OWL.

Crimzo, in particular, seems rather motivated by the pickup.

The Contenders roster also represents a major opportunity to promote the Envy brand and not just the Dallas Fuel brand. With Blizzard insisting on rebrandings of teams for the OWL and controlling the production of merchandise, it is difficult at best for teams to find ways of earning money through their own merchandise and even more troublesome to promote the other titles that the organisation competes in, such as CS:GO, Hearthstone, League of Legends etc. Tying the Contenders roster to the Team Envy name coupled with the instant hype and fans gained by reintroducing Talespin therefore provides a new major source of fans who may not have known about the Fuel’s history, as well as revenue for the team.

This promotion works both ways; just as Envy’s other teams will be advertised through the Contenders team (such as by tweeting at followers of the Team Envy account), the Contenders team will also be advertised to Envy fans who follow other games and, by extension, Contenders, the Overwatch League, and Overwatch as a whole. Admittedly, the impact of one Contenders roster on the OWL is questionable, but with the temporary pausing of OWL play and the major breaks between the end of OWL playoffs and the World Cup, one can expect Contenders viewership to skyrocket. It’s just a pity that OpTic Academy rebranded to GGEA; watching the Envy-Optic rivalry rekindled in Overwatch would surely have made for some great Contenders matches.

Nevertheless, I for one am excited to see Nanohana (previously named Flower) face off against Talespin, who he has cited as one of his inspirations. See you all when Team Envy plays the Skyfoxes at 7.45pm CT.