ESL Overwatch Atlantic Showdown Viewer's Guide

Less than 3 months into Overwatch’s release and we already have our first International LAN this weekend at Gamescom 2016. Four teams from each side of the Atlantic fought through online qualifiers in order to earn a chance for this $100,000 prize pool. Without further delay, let’s take a closer look at what to expect this weekend.

Matches & Schedule

Group stages will see the 8 qualified teams split into two groups which will be played in a double elimination format with best of three fixtures. The top two teams from each group will earn a place in the single elimination playoff bracket where best of five becomes the standard.

Group A Matches

Saturday August 20th

Misfits vs Fnatic: 09:20 AM - 10:40 AM CEST | 3:20 AM - 4:40 AM EDT

Team EnVyUs vs Team Dignitas: 10:40 AM - 12:00 PM CEST | 4:40 AM - 6:00 AM EDT

Winners' Match: 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM CEST | 6:00 AM - 8:30 AM EDT

Elimination Match: 1:30 PM - 2:40 PM CEST | 7:30 AM - 8:40 AM EDT

Sunday August 21st

Decider Match: 9:20 AM - 10:40 AM CEST | 3:20 AM - 4:40 AM EDT

Group B Matches

Saturday August 20th

REUNITED vs compLexity Gaming: 2:40 PM - 4:00 PM CEST | 8:40 AM - 10:00 AM EDT

Cloud9 vs Rogue: 4:00 PM - 5:20 PM CEST | 10:00 AM - 11:20 PM EDT

Winners' Match: 5:20 PM - 6:40 PM CEST | 11:20 AM - 12:40 PM EDT

Elimination Match: 6:40 PM - 8:00 PM CEST | 12:40 PM - 2:00 PM EDT

Sunday August 21st

Decider Match: 10:40 AM - 12:00 PM CEST | 4:40 AM - 6:00 AM EDT

Playoffs

Sunday August 21st

Semifinals #1: 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM CEST | 6:00 AM - 8:00 AM EDT

Semifinals #2: 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM CEST | 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM EDT

Grand Finals: 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM CEST | 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM EDT

Before we send you off, let’s take a closer look at the teams competing in the tournament.

Teams

Group A

Misfits

Jonathan "Kryw" Nobre (Flex)

(Flex) Sebastian "Zebbosai" Olsson (Support)

(Support) Nicholas "skipjack" Rosada (Tank)

(Tank) Terence "SoOn" Tarlier (DPS)

(DPS) Andreas "Nevix" Karlsson (Support)

(Support) Nikolaj "Zaprey" Ian Moyes (DPS)

Misfits are the “newest” team to earn a seat at Europe’s top table, but they have been holding their own since they first laid claim to the throne eight weeks ago. Consistent results against the rest of Europe’s big boys have kept them within touching distance, although that has included consistently losing to REUNITED - coming up short in 4 of their last 5 encounters. Overall they have relatively few recent results compared to their European peers on account of qualifying for Overwatch Open on the first time of asking, but their opponents may well have seen more in practice.

Zaprey has proven to have been an inspired signing, continuing to deliver on McCree, but remember that it was Zebbosai’s switch up to support shotcaller that began their change of fortunes from also-rans to contenders. As the only EU team not to bootcamp for this tournament (Zebbosai and SoOn have fulltime jobs in addition to Overwatch) there will be a lot resting on his shoulders to bring order to the chaos. Their 3rd place finish at TaKeOver with a weaker roster demonstrates their LAN credentials, but it is anyone’s guess as to how they will match up against Fnatic - a fixture which interestingly features two thirds of the old IMPULSE 11 roster with Nevix and Zebbosai taking on former teammates Vonethil and iddqd.

Fnatic

André "iddqd" Dahlström (DPS)

(DPS) Scott "custa" Kennedy (Support)

(Support) Oliver "Vonethil" Lager (Support)

(Support) Casey "buds" McIlwaine (DPS)

(DPS) Warsi Faraaz "Stoop" Waris (Tank)

(Tank) Matthew "coolmatt69" Iorio (Flex)

Since early August, Fnatic has won every match played without dropping a single map against teams like compLexity Gaming in the Overwatch Open and it’s not hard to see why. With top players like iddqd and coolmatt69 on this roster, the only surprise is how long it has taken for them to be established as a top team. Now that they are here - expect them to stay. Their biggest test this tournament will be to prove their worth on a LAN setting as, just like Team EnVyUs, their dominance has been limited to an online setting. Expect incredible plays from iddqd, a LAN veteran for the team, to put them in contention for a win through his stellar DPS skills. This tournament will prove a great opportunity for Fnatic to establish their name as they face off Misfits initially and potentially even Team EnVyUs.

Team EnVyUs

Ronnie "Talespin" DuPree Jr. (DPS)

(DPS) Dennis "INTERNETHULK" Hawelka (Flex)

(Flex) Timo "Taimou" Kettunen (DPS)

(DPS) Christian "cocco" Jonsson (Tank)

(Tank) Sebastian "chipshajen" Widlund (Support)

(Support) Jonathan "HarryHook" Tejedor Rua (Support)

Team EnVyUs is currently at 55 wins in a row without a single loss and don’t expect them to start losing now. While other teams have been pushing for opportunities to bootcamp prior to the tournament, Team EnVyUs benefits from having been in a gaming house for the past couple months - providing them with a vital practising edge over other teams. This will be the first time European teams will have an opportunity to fight the king of North American Overwatch in a fair setting and expect them to bring out their best in their quest for first place. Look out for Taimou and Talespin to make the plays needed to shut down any competition and solidify their claim for first place. Just like Fnatic, this will be the team’s first LAN as their 55 win streak is limited to online tournaments. If Team EnVyUs can bring home another win, they will not only cement their name as the best team in the world, but also prove they are more than just an online team.

Team Dignitas

Artur “art1er” Boxana (DPS)

(DPS) Jose Antonio “Bromas” Ramos Glez (DPS)

(DPS) Jiri “LiNkzr” Masalin (Flex)

(Flex) Seb “numlocked” Barton (Tank)

(Tank) Joshua “ToxikeN” Campos (Support)

(Support) Rasmus “Draceus” Waern (Support)

Newly signed to Team Dignitas, they may well need some of the honeymoon period magic based on recent results against top European teams. Although no one is suggesting they don’t belong here, their failure to earn direct qualification to the Overwatch Open after four attempts (they were #1 in points though) does create an air of uncertainty. A prolonged period of illness for the tank caller numlocked has surely affected results and their practise schedule in weeks gone by, but their recent bootcamp at TakeTV can only have helped. It is worth noting that TakeTV was the site of their first formative LAN experience when they finished 2nd to Rogue, but since then they trounced Rogue offline for a bigger payday at the ASUS ROG 10th Anniversary €9,500 Grand Finals in Paris after the KnOxXx-ToxikeN switch up. Having said all that, they are facing EnVyUs first... may Harambe have mercy on their souls.

Group B

REUNITED

Hendrik-William "Vallutaja" Kinks (DPS)

(DPS) Andrei "uNFixed" Leonov (Flex)

(Flex) Finley "Kyb" Adisi (DPS)

(DPS) Thomas "Morte" Kerbusch (Support)

(Support) Harrison "Kruise" Pond (Support)

(Support) Sergi "Winghaven" Torras (Tank)

Technically the oldest of the European rosters, the arrival of world class sushi chef Kyb in the wake of 2Easy’s departure has marked a new chapter for REUNITED. Their resurgence, which has seen them catapulted to the top of the EU rankings, fully vindicates their roster moves but I would argue that Kruise remains their strongest pickup to date. What he has brought to the team as an ingame leader may not be as immediately visible as a caster screaming over a Dragonblade ace, but will be exponentially more valuable on Overwatch’s biggest stage - a cool head will be crucial in their first game where the threat of the harbleu Roadhog looms large.

Interestingly REUNITED’s long history in the game marks them out as the European team with the most experience against North American teams (although perhaps not in recent months). Add to that their recent Valencia bootcamp, the fact that they are the current kings of Europe and that they have dodged EnVyUs’ group - one has to fancy their chances of making the Grand Final on Sunday.

compLexity Gaming

Anthony "harbleu" Ballo (Flex)

(Flex) Jake "torkTJO" Lepoff (DPS)

(DPS) Nicolas "NicolasTJO" Aubin (DPS)

(DPS) Joey "jkw" Wavering (Tank)

(Tank) Joe "Joemeister" Gramano (Support)

(Support) Jack "Shake" Kaplan (Support)

The compLexity roster is a LAN veteran one having placed 3rd at the Agents Rising tournament as Gale Force eSports. The compLexity roster has been on the rise, currently consistently beating teams such as Liquid and Cloud9 in the ESL King of the Hill Tournament and Overwatch Open Qualifiers. Unfortunately for them, they have been losing to the likes of Team EnVyUs and Fnatic whom they’ll need to beat if they want a chance at winning this tournament. They have an uphill battle facing REUNITED in their first match, but also the benefit of having Cloud9 in their group. Keep an eye out for harbleu to flank with Roadhog, torkTJO and NicolasTJO to make some huge plays on McCree, Genji, Tracer and Reaper, and the team playing with top-level coordination in order to capture their win.

Cloud9

Kyle "KyKy" Souder (Tank)

(Tank) Greg "Grego" McAllen (Support)

(Support) Lane "Surefour" Roberts (DPS)

(DPS) Adam "Adam" Eckel (Support)

(Support) Derrick "reaver" Nowicki (DPS)

(DPS) Kevin "deBett" deBettencourt (Tank)

Cloud9 is another LAN veteran team having placed 1st at the Agents Rising tournament. However a few meta changes later, they no longer are the dominant team they once were although still are very much a top team in the North American scene. Lately, Cloud9 has been having issues against the compLexity Gaming roster, losing 2-1 to them in the Overwatch Open Qualifiers NA #1, and will need to step it up in case the two teams face off again. An early match against Rogue will thoroughly test their ability before pitting them against either their bane, compLexity, or the European champions REUNITED. Nonetheless, this is another top talent roster - expect the combination of the team’s history, skilled players, and strong track record to provide them with the ability to pull off a win.

Rogue

Kevyn "TviQ" Lindström (DPS)

(DPS) Jonathan "Reinforce" Larsson (Tank)

(Tank) Benjamin "uNKOE" Chevasson (Support)

(Support) Dylan "aKm" Bignet (DPS)

(DPS) Michael "winz" Bignet (Flex)

(Flex) Jean-Louis “KnOxXx” Boyer (Support)

As the only team in attendance who have won a LAN in Germany, you simply cannot write off Rogue. Sure, it might have been 12 weeks, numerous meta shifts and one roster change back down the line, but you can’t take that away from them! Moving to the modern day, Rogue can also claim to be the last team to beat the current EU kings, REUNITED, having delivered a 3-1 beatdown in the Grand Final of the Overwatch Open Qualifier #2. Easily the most mercurial team in attendance, it feels like Rogue are equally as likely to get blown up as blow up against top tier opponents.

It’s not yet fully apparent if they are better since picking up KnOxXx, but they definitely aren’t any worse - which is actually an achievement in a very competitive European scene. TviQ may not be the clear cut “best player in the world” that many heralded him as in the beta, but again that is not because he has gotten worse - everyone else has been grinding day and night to get on his level - you simply cannot underestimate the kebab king. Historically a fearlessly creative team when it comes to team compositions and strats, one can only imagine what they have been cooking up during their bootcamp in Katowice, Poland.

Get Started!

Every match will be streamed live on ESL’s Overwatch Twitch channel with Jason Kaplan, FishStix, Ster, Deman, Uber, and HuK leading the commentary for the tournament. You can keep up with the action via our match ticker and recaps throughout the weekend right here on over.gg.

Can EnVyUs be defeated? Are they just onliners? Who will deliver the upsets? Who is the most handsome gamer at LAN?! Share your thoughts and predictions in the comments below!

Big thanks to Admirable for co-writing this article.

Photo credit: ESL