Photo credit: OGN

The third iteration of the premier Korean tournament is just around the corner and the field is just as competitive as ever. To have a little bit of fun, and test everyone’s prediction prowess, analysts, pundits, agreed to submit their predictions for who gets out of the groups and six other categories.

Explaining the categories:

Champion: who does the person think will win the tournament

Runner-up: who will finish at second place

Dark horse: a team that is not likely to win, but potentially could by causing a lot of upsets.

Team that will exceed expectations: a squad that will do better than what is expected of them by the competitive Overwatch community as a whole

Team that will underperform: a squad that will do worse than what is expected of them by the competitive Overwatch community as a whole

MVP: most valuable player for the tournament

Groups: team to advance first, team to advance second

Before we begin with the predictions, keep in mind that with the tournament spanning over the course of several months, it is hard to give a concrete predictions, especially when a patch could hit and turn the metagame on its head. So, take these this with a grain of salt, mostly as something meant to encourage discussion, provide entertainment for the community and source for banter between the pundits and analysts.

Additionally, the participants were heavily encouraged not to give comments and explanations on their picks, so it can be easier for the community to rip them apart, when they inevitably turn out to be wrong.

Photo credit: LightingHomes

ChanManV creator, producer and host of The OverView:

Champion: Meta Athena

Runner-Up: Lunatic-Hai

Dark Horse: Team KongDoo Uncia

Team that will exceed expectations: CONBOX Spirit

Team that will underperform: Runaway

MVP: Ryujehong

Group A: Lunatic-Hai, KongDoo Panthera

Group B: RunAway, KongDoo Uncia

Group C: LuxuryWatch Blue, CONBOX Spirit

Group D: Meta Athena, Team EnVyUs

Elbion, a.k.a. Joshua Tuffs, staff writer for DOTesports, you can find the reason behind his picks here:

Champion: Lunatic-Hai

Runner-up: LuxuryWatch Blue

Dark horse: RunAway

Team that will exceed expectations: BK Stars

Team that will underperform: Rogue

MVP: Ryujehong? This one is hard to guess

Group A: Lunatic-Hai, Rogue

Group B: RunAway, X6-Gaming

Group C: LuxuryWatch Blue, CONBOX Spirit

Group D: Meta Athena, Team EnVyUs

Harsha, journalist, coach, analyst, content creator, writer for over.gg:

Champion: LuxuryWatch Blue

Runner-up: Lunatic-Hai

Dark horse: Rogue

Team that will exceed expectations: Team EnVyUs

Team that will underperform: Kongdoo Panthera

MVP: Saebyeolbe

Group A: Lunatic-Hai, Rogue

Group B: RunAway, Afreeca Freecs Blue

Group C: LuxuryWatch Blue, CONBOX Spirit

Group D: Meta Athena, Team EnVyUs

Karahol, a.k.a. Afterwatch, freelance writer:

Champion: Rogue

Team that will exceed expectations: x6-Gaming

Team that will underperform: Kongdoo Panthera

MVP: Winz

Group A: Lunatic-Hai, Rogue

Group B: Runaway, X6-Gaming

Group C: LW Blue, Conbox Spirit

Group D: BK Stars, Team EnvyUs

Matrym, analyst and color commentator:

Champion: RunAway — I am a sucker for underdogs

Runner-up: Lunatic-Hai

Dark horse: BK Stars- Interesting group can potentially play spoiler or get out of groups with interesting play

Team that will exceed expectations: X6-Gaming — new team from promo. Not much is expected but are in an interesting group.

Team that will underperform: KongDoo Panthera, in a group with LH and Rogue, may not make it out of groups.

MVP: Kaiser

Group A: Lunatic-Hai, Rogue

Group B: RunAway, KongDoo Uncia

Group C: LuxuryWatch Blue, CONBOX Spirit

Group D: Meta Athena, Team EnVyUs

Mert, freelance writer for over.gg:

Champion: Lunatic-Hai

Runner-up: LuxuryWatch Blue

Dark horse: KongDoo Panthera

Team that will exceed expectations: X6-Gaming

Team that will underperform: Rogue

MVP: Fl0w3R

Group A: Lunatic-Hai, KongDoo Panthera

Group B: RunAway, KongDoo Uncia

Group C: LuxuryWatch Blue, Conbox

Gruop D: Meta Athena, Team EnVyUs

Nydra, staff writer at GosuGamers:

Champion: LuxuryWatch Blue

Runner-up: Lunatic-Hai

Dark horse: CONBOX Spirit

Team that will exceed expectations: KongDoo Uncia

Team that will underperform: Team EnVyUs

MVP: RyuJeHong or SaeByeolBe

Group A: Lunatic-Hai, KongDoo Panthera

Group B: KongDoo Uncia, RunAway

Group C: LuxuryWatch Blue, CONBOX Spirit

Group D: Meta Athena, Team EnVyUs or BK Stars

RadoN, freelance writer:

Champion: LuxuryWatch Blue

Runner-up: RunAway

Dark horse: Rogue

Team that will exceed expectations: BK Stars

Team that will underperform: KongDoo Panthera

MVP: Saebyeolbe

Group A: Lunatic-Hai, Rogue

Group B: RunAway, Recry&Lucid

Group C: LuxuryWatch Blue, CONBOX Spirit

Gruop D: BK Stars, Meta Athena

Reinforce, player for Misfits:

Since Reinforce is the only participating professional player, he was allowed to explain himself, before a barrage of salty fans arrived on his doorstep.

Champion: LuxuryWatch Blue

My gut says Panthera, but my brain says LW Blue.

The sheer star power on the new Panthera roster is something out of the ordinary, but piecing together a new team is no easy task. The question is not whether Panthera will make a phenomenal run through the playoffs, but if they will make it out of groups. If they do, there’s no doubt they’ll be a favorite to win the entire thing. Until they do, my bet is on the revitalized and stable LW Blue featuring their new addition, Pine.

Runner-up: Lunatic-Hai

Dark horse: X6-Gaming

X6-Gaming comes into group B, considered by many the “group of death” given the inclusion of APEX Season 2 runner-ups “Runaway”, one of the two well-respected KongDoo teams and “Arhan’s” (it should be Recry’s) Afreeca Freeks Blue.

But is it really the group of death?

No arguing that it’s going to be the most unpredictable of the four groups, but in terms of skill level I’m more intrigued by the starpower in group A. With the lesser of the two reformed KongDoo teams, and an AF Blue team that has struggled throughout APAC, APEX Season 1 & 2 and IEM Gyeonggi, there’s a great deal of upset potential. Will Recry show up once again to secure AF Blue a playoff spot? Will DNCE and Panker stand their ground and uphold KongDoo pride? They’re by no margin favorites here, but the punching power of X6-Gaming, much over-shadowed by a disappointing ROX Orcas’ in last season’s Challenger is not to be underestimated.

Team that will exceed expectations: Meta Athena

Okay, hold the god damn phone. “How can a team that placed 4th last season exceed expectations?” you may ask. Well, be honest with yourselves and many of you will solidify that Meta Athena will make playoffs fairly confidently, but their shot at the title, or reaching the grand final? Minimal you might say, but I think Hoon and company can just get better from here. Having shown great creativity last season, having one of the world’s best Zarya’s, and with a fantastic DPS duo, I think they have a shot at solidifying themselves as a real top 4 team in Korea, not based on “gimmicks” or “surprise strategies”, but based on powerful individual and team performances throughout the season.

MVP: Fl0w3r

I initially thought of someone showcasing elite performances consistently throughout the tournament, and it’s pretty easy to mention someone like “WhoRU” or “RyuJeHong”, but despite their excellence in the heroes they’re most famous for, I personally rate Fl0w3r’s versatility, and consistency within his large hero pool too high. If LW Blue makes a run to the grand finals, the influence Fl0w3r has in this LW Blue roster cannot be over-stated.

Group A: Lunatic-Hai, Rogue

Group B: Runaway, X6-Gaming

Group C: LW Blue, Flash Lux

Gruop D: Meta Athena, EnVyUs

Sabriality, SoMe for Overbuff and PBR host:

Champion: RunAway

Runner-up: Rogue

Dark horse: KongDoo Uncia

Team that will exceed expectations: Meta Athena

Team that will underperform: Lunatic-Hai

MVP: SoOn

Group A: Rogue , Lunatic-Hai

Group B: RunAway, KongDoo Uncia

Group C: LuxuryWatch Blue , CONBOX Spirit

Gruop D: Team EnVyUs, Meta Athena

Sideshow freelance writer, analyst and caster:

Champion: LuxuryWatch Blue

Runner-up: Lunatic-Hai

Dark horse: Meta Athena

Team that will exceed expectations: X6-Gaming

Team that will underperform: RunAway

MVP: RyuJeHong

Group A: Lunatic-Hai, Rogue

Group B: RunAway, X6-Gaming

Group C: LuxuryWatch Blue, CONBOX Spirit

Group D: Meta Athena, Team EnVyUs

Uber, host and commentator:

Champion: Meta Athena

Runner-up: LuxuryWatch Blue

Dark horse: X6-Gaming

Team that will exceed expectations: CONBOX Spirit

Team that will underperform: AF Blue

MVP: Sayaplayer

Group A: Lunatic-Hai, Rogue

Group B: Runaway, KongDoo Uncia

Group C: LuxuryWatch Blue, CONBOX Spirit

Gruop D: Meta Athena, Team EnVyUs

Volamel, freelance writer for Esports Heaven:

Champion: Lunatic-Hai

Runner-up: LuxuryWatch Blue

Dark horse: CONBOX Spirit

Team that will exceed expectations: LuxuryWatch Blue

Team that will underperform: KongDoo Panthera

MVP: Libero

Group A: Lunatic-Hai, Rogue

Group B: RunAway, X6-Gaming

Group C: LuxuryWatch Blue, CONBOX Spirit

Group D: Meta Athena, BK Stars

Yiska, freelance writer for GosuGamers:

Champion: LuxuryWatch Blue

Runner-up: Lunatic-Hai

Dark horse: Rogue

Team that will exceed expectations: X6-Gaming

Team that will underperform: RunAway

MVP: Fl0w3R

Group A: Lunatic-Hai, Rogue

Group B: X6-Gaming, RunAway

Group C: LuxuryWatch Blue, CONBOX Spirit

Gruop D: Meta Athena, Team EnVyUs

We all hope you enjoy this and give us all a follow on twitter, before flaming us for not predicting your favorite team to win the tournament. If you don’t like the lack of explanations regarding picks you can fully blame RadoN, who thought it would be funnier this way.

APEX resumes on 28th of April, 19:00 KST (time-zones converter) at twitch.tv/OGNglobal for the English language broadcast or twitch.tv/OGN_OW, should you prefer your Overwatch in Korean.