Picked Over

Week 2 of Overwatch’s birthday celebration is off to a great start with the confirmation of a new map on the moon and the announcement of Overwatch Contenders Season Zero taking place over summer.

All that partying is hard work though, so why not head back inside, take off that spacesuit, and check out some of the great Overwatch esports content from this past week.

By Blitz Esports Overwatch

The competitive Overwatch scene is constantly evolving with the addition of new heroes, maps and balance changes. Equally important to the development of the scene is casting and the overall spectator experience. DoA highlights the journey that casting has taken so far in this game and the direction it needs to head in for Overwatch to be successful. If you’re unable to watch the video, you can read through the interview transcript.

So you've said every caster fumbles in team fights. How do you successfully call an Overwatch team fight? ...But right now thinking mostly about Overwatch, I think the thing that you see a lot of which I think is the wrong way to do it is to be like a human kill feed. You've got the kill feed up there, so you don't need to be saying everything that people are seeing and the kill feed. You don't need to be narrating the action ability by ability, death by death. And this goes a little bit farther back to setting up the fight, setting up what the action will be. And what the important factors are, and so that when the fight happens you can build off of what you've set up rather than just like call out random abilities and things like that so. ...So one thing Monte and I tried to do when we were starting to cast Overwatch. We thought about how do we want to cast this, especially the team fights. And we looked at fighting game commentators as like a big inspiration for how we wanted to approach Overwatch in that we wanted it to be mostly subdued for the most part, and just like in a fighting game like if you watch Street Fighter or Smash Bros, you acknowledge that there are going to be hits and there's going to be action that happens that doesn't require commentary on that exact action. And you need to really pick out what's important. So if you're watching a Street Fighter match, they're not going to talk about every punch that's thrown right. They're going to talk about like somebody failing to read like an important mix up or something like that--really important moments in the match. So in Overwatch people are going to die, ultimates are going to be used and those things are not always important.

Esports Heaven - by Volamel

If you’re new to the Competitive Overwatch scene or perhaps are looking for a trip down memory lane, Volamel takes a look at ten matches exciting matches from the past year and provides context to what made the match exciting as well as the long run impact of it.

This was the beginning of Overwatch’s El Classico. Team Envyus was on a rampage, going on an 57-0 win streak. The analysis desk for this particular semifinal of ESL’s Atlantic Showdown did not give good odds to Rogue; they came into this match as the definitive underdogs. The sentiment was that Envyus was fallible, but Rogue would have to have the performance of a lifetime to take down the first “Kings of Overwatch.” And what a performance they had! Again, spanning the entire set, game five on Lijiang Tower is a favorite of mine. Personally, when it comes down to Overwatch, the gameplay accompanied by the casters and the use of the story behind the players is what makes this game great. That map was painted beautifully with memorable moments and clutch plays. Ultimately, Rogue would end up dethroning Envyus and moving on to the grand final.

Esports Heaven - by Volamel

Volamel’s second piece this week takes a look into Cloud9’s newest addition, Kaiser, and his journey starting as a shovel wiedling soldier in TF2 and culminating with his latest move to Cloud9. Throughout the piece, Volamel also brings context into what might have formed the formidable tank player who now dominates the scene.

Kaiser is taking a risk. He is leaving everything he’s ever known to journey half-way across the world to play further his career in esports. Not only that, but the decision was made on behalf of his family, whom he plays to support with some of the funds and salaries that Cloud 9 issues him. This is the epitome of aloha. Kaiser has had to say goodbye to his country and family and had to say hello to a new venture in North America. Picture this; a giant of a man, clad in metal adornments akin to something straight out of Arthurian legend, rounding the corner of a back-alleyway in London, and feeding you a lifetime supply of Iron and Steel straight to your jaw. This just about sums up Kaiser’s playstyle. He constantly lives up to his handle. His overwhelming offense plays king to any solace that the enemies may hold. In many instances, the tank players of many teams are delegated to protecting and aiding their DPS players in allowing them to succeed, not Kaiser. He is a threat and that’s what is so intriguing from an analytical perspective. Not only do the statistics back up this claim, but time and time again, Kaiser shows no mercy towards the opposing team, crushing skulls and charging the hopes and dreams of anyone who stands in his path ― straight into a wall.

Akshon Esports

If you missed out on the match between Lunatic-Hai and Rogue, be sure to watch the entirety of the clip to catch up on highlights of what you might have missed. If not, the link directly cuts to the end with an interview with WhoRU following Lunatic-Hai’s victory and officially sending Rogue back home. WhoRU goes into the reasoning behind Lunatic-Hai’s interesting composition as well as his thoughts on Rogue as a competitor.

Dot Esports - by Malcolm Abbas

If you’ve enjoyed seeing Meta Athena innovate with their compositions and strategies as much as I have, you’ll enjoy reading this piece and looking into the thoughts behind several of these unique strategies. Even better - if you’ve missed out on some of these moments, the article includes highlights to instances of each strategy for your viewing pleasure.

While not nearly hated as much as Hanzo, Sombra saw virtually no play within APEX upon her release in November, 2016. Sombra's unique playstyle featured around her ability to hack opponents was unlike any other hero in the DPS class. That’s why teams kept their distance from Sombra, continuing to run Reaper beyblade compositions, and later three tanks. Kongdoo Panthera's Kim "Raskal" Dong Jun tried Sombra once earlier that season against Flash Lux, but wouldn't bring her out again until the quarterfinals, after their match against Meta Athena. Early into the playoffs of APEX season two, however, Libero decided to take a chance, unveiling his Sombra against Afreeca Freecs Blue on Eichenwalde. Although this attempt at Sombra was ultimately unsuccessful as Meta Athena weren't able to hold the first control point, Libero was undeterred. In Meta Athena's following match against Kongdoo Panthera, Libero once again brought out her out, but this time on Hanamura. Luckily for Libero, his determination paid off.

InvenGlobal - by Kyeongbeom "Its" Kim

If you’re looking to pick up Tracer as a main for this next season, definitely check out this interview. InvenGlobal talks to EnVyUs's newest player, Effect, and go into a variety of topics including Effect’s history, the move to EnVyUs, and what makes his Tracer so formidable.

Q. Many people point out that your Tracer plays differently than other players’ do. How would you describe your Tracer playstyle?

You can think of my Tracer as a completely different hero than other players’. I’ve worked on her by myself quite extensively to arrive at my current style. I guess I tend to focus on drawing aggro rather than bursting an enemy down with raw firepower like other Tracer mains do. I often sneak into the backline to disrupt the enemy’s vision, which helps my team pressure the opponent. I can usually find an opening to secure kills when the enemy team is in disarray. To sum up, my playstyle is to support the team by drawing aggro and to get kills when the time is right.

OGN

What you still want more? Well have at it - OGN’s open mic highlights are always a treat to watch and this one is no less, featuring APEX Season 2 Champions, Lunatic-Hai. Enjoy this treat until we’re graced by another highlight from OGN.