Overwatch League All-Stars 2019 Recap

The Overwatch League All-Stars event wrapped up this week in Los Angeles, California. The two day event saw a slew of fun game modes take shape at the Blizzard Arena as casters, analysts and Overwatch League hosts participated in a ‘Talent Takedown’ where 12 Blizzard personnel were distributed to different teams. The second annual Widowmaker 1v1 tournament saw a lot of interesting moments take place as JJoNak, diem and Pine all showed glimpses of brilliance as they tried to outsmart one another. Finally, the Atlantic and Pacific all-stars squads took to battle to round out the event, as the Atlantic division made quick work of their rivals and won the series in a triumphant 4-1 stomp.

Talent Takedown

In the opening round of Overwatch League action this weekend both casters, analysts and hosts of the OWL broadcast took to the stage in an effort to show off their prowess both in-and-out of the game. The Atlantic division showcased a powerhouse of talent on their side as Head Coach Pavane oversaw a group of talented former esports legends with Bren, Puckett, Montecristo, DoA, Sideshow and Hexagrams all participating for the action.

The Pacific division, led by Vancouver Titans Head Coach paJion, saw the likes of Mr. X, Danny Lim, Mica, Uber, Achilios, Wolf and Semmler joining the opposition as they both dressed in extravagant garb and design in order to throw off their opponents. In the first map of the series, Atlantic division came out to an imposing start as Bren and Puckett quickly put themselves in the driver’s seat as the impact players for their team.

In the second game, the Pacific talent put up a valiant fight behind the sniping of Achilios, but the ensuing objective control from Atlantic’s talent was just too much to overcome. Sideshow showed he can be a straight up nuisance as a priority Zarya player for his team, and very soon the defense of Pacific’s team fell by the wayside under their crushing pressure. The final map on Lijiang Tower was secured for Pacific but at that point, the series was a foregone conclusion as Atlantic stood firm with a 2-1 margin of victory.

Widowmaker 1v1 showdown

If the Talent Takedown wasn’t enough to get the competitive juices flowing for All-Stars weekend, the slick snipes that were seen during the Widowmaker 1v1 tournament was more than enough to turn some heads. Over the course of the elimination bracket, Nenne, Pine, Carpe and Fleta all provided insane highlights over the course of their participation in the competition, but none of those top tier contestants were able to hold a candle to the eventual Widowmaker 1v1 champion.

While Nenne looked incredibly impressive as one of the few Tank players actually holding his own in this competition, it was Diem from the Shanghai Dragons that ultimately stole the show. Diem quite literally seized the day for his efforts on Widowmaker and after a few series of him just completely decimating his opponents, it made sense to see him in Finals with a worthy opponent sitting across from him. A great showing for the current Shanghai Dragon and a successful return to one of the most anticipated game modes of the All-Stars event.

Atlantic vs Pacific

In the final talent showcase of the event, both Atlantic and Pacific divisions put on an absolute show for the Arcade Game Modes and subsequent series that followed. The All-Stars Arcade went much more in tune with Pacific’s hopes for the tourney as they were able to eek out a 2-1 match result across the variety of niche game modes both teams participated in.

Once the game modes were taken off though, Atlantic’s division rose with the occasion as they triumphed over their continental rivals in an emphatic 4-1 touting. The success for Atlantic came in their depth of strength as Fusions, Gesture, JJoNak and Pine were all adding extreme value to this already stacked roster. Once the Atlantic players started to file in line with their Main Tank’s the result for each game was a foregone conclusion and they were able to adequately answer the question of just which All-Stars division would reign supreme at the end of it all.