Overwatch Open Preview: EU Group A

Two days of gruelling competition stand between Europe's elite teams and EnVyUs, Europe's other elite team. Whilst nV have already surpassed their placing from the Atlantic Showdown, there are a few teams left in the competition who are still haunted by the events of gamescom.

Over the next two days those fears will be vanquished or further compounded because there is no real argument to be had when I say that the European field is much more competitive than what we have seen so far from North America. The favourites for each group seem obvious and at the same time perilously positioned given the historical merry-go-round at the top of Europe's rankings since Overwatch's launch.

Group A

REUNITED

Hendrik-William "vallutaja" Kinks (DPS)

Hendrik-William Kinks (DPS) Andrei "uNFixed" Leonov (Flex)

Andrei Leonov (Flex) Finley "Kyb" Adisi (DPS)

Finley Adisi (DPS) Thomas "Morte" Kerbusch (Support)

Thomas Kerbusch (Support) Harrison "Kruise" Pond (Support)

Harrison Pond (Support) Sergi "Winghaven" Torras (Tank)

We are fortunate that the Lenovo Cup has furnished us with some recent data on the top tier teams, although it really muddles expectations for REUNITED; without recent results we would be absolutely convinced they are still the number two team in Europe. How much faith can we have in a team that gets blown up 1-3 by Misfits (with two stand-ins), rallies to beat them 3-2 in the playoffs only to get slammed 0-3 in the Grand Final by NiP despite having knocked them to the lower bracket earlier 3-0 on the exact same maps?! Bizarre stuff that can be only partially explained by NA pings.

Their struggle to deliver in finals is a very real one. At the start of the month they did claim a victory over Rogue early in GosuGamers Weekly EU #18, but again suffered a crushing reverse sweep loss in the Grand Final. Which REUNITED we are going to see in Atlanta remains to be seen, but the team has an incredible chance to finally cement their legacy in Overwatch and seem well prepared both in terms of their recent bootcamp with EnVyUs and the incredible breadth of LAN experience their non-British members have together from other titles.

As for this opening match versus the Ninjas? Again hard to say. A team with REUNITED's work ethic will definitely have studied hard on the recent loss, but whether they win or lose a tantalizing grudge match against former teammate 2Easy almost certainly awaits at some point in the group.

Ninjas in Pyjamas

Joona "fragi" Laine (Tank)

Joona Laine (Tank) Kalle "hymzi" Honkala (Flex)

Kalle Honkala (Flex) Lauri "mafu" Rasi (DPS)

Lauri Rasi (DPS) Joonas "zappis" Alakurtti (DPS)

Joonas Alakurtti (DPS) Antti "kyynel" Kinnunen (Support)

Antti Kinnunen (Support) Aleksi "Zuppehw" Kuntsi (Support)

Historically the NiP / SG-1 record against REUNITED is pretty dire. It's easy to see why top tier veterans get a little salty at the effectiveness of the triple tank triple support setup that the Ninjas have been quick to master, but take some of the vitriol with a pinch of salt - FaZe / WEUNITED always lost to the Finns even before the meta shifted in their favour!

Having the most time invested in and success running these tank heavy composition of any team in attendance, Ninjas in Pyjamas are beautifully poised to deliver the upsets on Overwatch's biggest stage to date. One might worry that they have shown their hand too early, but they have already demonstrated that they are capable of making adjustments. The North American's have already made the case for loading quasi-tank Mei and Nano Reaper as silver bullets to Ana comps, but we will have to wait to see how current Kings in the North respond.

Something that has gone largely unreported is the fact that their mainstay support, Joni "Seita" Paavola, has been unavailable recently due to "irl stuff". His temporary replacement Zuppehw is an Ana main with a background in Dirty Bomb / League of Legends, plucked from the ranked leaderboards, and so far has delivered for them in the Lenovo Cup.

Despite the unknown quantity that Zuppehw represents, there is a wealth of LAN experience amongst the old-school TF2 players that compose two thirds of this roster (albeit not at these kind of stakes), not to mention their 5th place finish at TaKeOver as SG-1 which I feel put the team in good stead here - I actually fancy them to top the group.

Team Dignitas

Artur "art1er" Bischof (Support)

Artur Bischof (Support) Jose Antonio "BromaS" Ramos Glez (DPS)

Jose Antonio Ramos Glez (DPS) Jiri "LiNkzr" Masalin (DPS)

Jiri Masalin (DPS) Seb "numlocked" Barton (Tank)

Seb Barton (Tank) Joshua "ToxikeN" Campos (Flex)

Joshua Campos (Flex) Rasmus "Draceus" Waern (Support)

You have to go back to their Creation days to find any favourable results for Dignitas against their group mates. There was a time when they would beat up regularly on the Finns and take wins against the top four, but it has been a rough couple of months that see them enter as underdogs for the Group A.

The memories of their 2nd place finish at TaKeOver had faded long ago and no one was more aware than the team themselves that changes required after gamecom, with a talented roster on paper failing to deliver results on the big stage. In a recent interview on the excellent proverwatch.gg art1er revealed that he was now playing support and major changes had been implemented, "BromaS and LiNkz are DPS, ToxikeN is now flex. BromaS is also taking over my role exactly, playing Tracer and McCree".

This bodes well for their prospects both in the fact that a change had to be made and that their opponents will have limited experience of playing against their new style and setups. Although numlocked has always been a strong high tempo caller, it will be interesting to see if art1er's input on Lucio can steady the ship. Their downfall has always seemed to stem from a kind of impassioned recklessness creeping into their performances, so hopefully some fresh perspective and clear-headedness will prevail for them in Atlanta.

FaZe Clan

George "ShaDowBurn" Gushcha (DPS)

George Gushcha (DPS) Eric "TwoEasy" van Hoorn (DPS)

Eric van Hoorn (DPS) Jared "zombs" Gitlin (Flex)

Jared Gitlin (Flex) Russell "FCTFCTN" Campbell (Tank)

Russell Campbell (Tank) Shane "Rawkus" Flaherty (Support)

Shane Flaherty (Support) Viktors "Forsak3n" Bernevs (Support)

Credit to FaZe Clan because they really have not shied away from competition. Whilst other teams have planned and plotted behind closed doors, they have been testing their mettle repeatedly online. Although that has produced some rage inducing moments, such as losing 1-2 to Reason Gaming, it also saw them top their group in qualification over EU darlings, Rogue, and make an impressive deep run to the Alienware Monthly Mayhem Grand Final before losing out to Cloud9.

Back in mid-August as Immortals they did actually 2-0 Dignitas (then Creation), so they enter this initial fixture with a mental edge of sorts. Six weeks later though, it is anyone's guess as to how these teams are going to match up. ShaDowBurn at LAN is something TF2 fans have been demanding for years and the visa gods have finally heard their prayers (if not the name of the game). You may wonder what impact he will have in a meta that has somewhat marginalised Genji, but don't forget that he is also Europe's most savage Pharah.

It may well be 2Easy who steals the limelight, not just because his rivalry with REUNITED is one of the best storylines of the tournament, but his Tracer play may yet prove super effective against the standard Ana compositions if he can consistently work the backlines. His stubbornness and drive have him within 24 hours of delivering the coldest of vengeances upon the team that scorned him – who wouldn't secretly love to see that?

The first games of Group A get underway in just two hours' time, so get ready for Europe to put on a show.