Introduced in 2017, Contenders is a major series of Overwatch Tournaments organised by Blizzard and has been dubbed the Tier 2 scene, acting as a development series for aspiring players. Specifically, Contenders Korea (KR) has been known for a breeding ground for budding OWL stars now for a long time, with its quality of players and teams unquestionably unrivaled by any other regions. However, one question remains, which KR Contenders Team has been the most successful? With this, we will look at how well KR Contenders teams have been doing the past two years in terms of developing these young talents.

For this, players indirectly promoted to OWL will also be credited to their original team, so a direct promotion to OWL will be 2 points, while an indirect promotion will be 1 point.

Only mainstays of KR Contenders will be counted, so all the teams included here will have at least 3 seasons of KR Contenders under their belt.

Players counted are the ones who left their respective teams earliest by the start of 2018.

Teams stated stop once the first OWL team the player joins is mentioned.

9) GC Busan Wave: 2018 S2, S3, 2019 S1, 2019 S2

GC Busan Wave is a South Korean team sponsored by the city of Busan and has competed in 4 seasons of KR Contenders. After qualifying for 2018 S2 through Trials, GC Busan Wave has achieved average results, finishing outside the Top 4 every season.

Edison (DPS): GC Busan Wave to Atlanta Reign

Total points: 2

8) Gen.G esports: 2018 S3, 2019 S1, 2019 S2

Gen.G esports, formerly known as KSV esports, is a pro esports organisation that not only has teams in Overwatch, but in CSGO, PUBG, League and other games as well. Gen.G is also the academy team for the OWL team Seoul Dynasty. They have done decently well in Contenders 2019 S1 and S2, clinching Top 4 positions, improving from their 9th -10th place standing in 2018 S3.

Fuze (Main Support): Gen.G to Fusion University to London Spitfire

Creative (Flex Support): Gen.G to Seoul Dynasty

Glister (DPS): Gen.G to London Spitfire

Total points: 5

7) MVP Space / Team MVP: 2018 S1, S2, S3, 2019 S1

Team MVP, formerly known as MVP Space, has competed in 4 seasons of KR Contenders and has achieved average results, never able to break into the Top 4 of any season.

Ado (DPS): MVP Space to Shanghai Dragons

Fuze (Main Support): MVP Space to Gen.G esports to Fusion University to London Spitfire

BiaNcA (Offtank): MVP Space to XL2 Academy to NYXL

Yaki (DPS): MVP Space to XL2 Academy to RunAway to Florida Mayhem

TTuba (DPS): MVP Space to O2 Blast to Bubble Burster Gaming to Washington Justice

Total points: 6

6) Blossom: 2018 S1, S2, S3

Blossom is an organisation who not only competed in the 2018 contender seasons, but also had a pre-OWL story as well. They ran the famous team GC Busan in 2017, who completed an underdog story in APEX Season 4 by knocking out then elite Korean teams in Lunatic-Hai and Kongdoo Panthera and eventually winning the APEX championship after a close win against RunAway. They attended the 3 seasons of KR Contenders in 2018 but finished near the bottom all 3 times.

Byrem (Flex Support): Blossom to NRG Esports to Florida Mayhem

Happy (DPS): Blossom to Meta Bellum to Guangzhou Charge

Gambler (Main Support): Blossom to Seoul Dynasty

ANS (DPS): Blossom to Retirement to SF Shock

ILLICIT (DPS): Blossom to Seoul Dynasty

LIP (DPS): Blossom to Shanghai Dragons

Total points: 10

5) Meta Athena: 2018 S1, S3, 2019 S2

Meta Athena, though known for their unorthodox strategies during the APEX period, has been an at-best mediocre team throughout its history. In the 3 KR Contenders seasons they participated in, they finished in the bottom 2 all 3 times. Despite this, a substantial number of their former players have been picked up by OWL teams.

Rio (Main Tank): Meta Athena to Meta Bellum to Guangzhou Charge

Sayaplayer (DPS): Meta Athena to Florida Mayhem

aWesomeGuy (Main Tank): Meta Athena to Florida Mayhem

Shu (Flex Support): Meta Athena to Toronto Esports to Uprising Academy to Guangzhou Charge

ArHaN (DPS): Meta Athena to Houston Outlaws

Kris (Flex Support): Meta Athena to Florida Mayhem

Sansam (Offtank): Meta Athena to Washington Justice

WhoRU (DPS): Meta Athena to Fusion University to Skyfoxes to NYXL

Jerry (DPS): Meta Athena to Boston Uprising

Total points: 15

4) Kongdoo Panthera / Team Griffin: 2018 S1, S2, S3

Kongdoo Panthera was another well-known team pre-OWL. Finishing runners-up to Lunatic-Hai in APEX Season 3, their entire roster was picked up by Cloud 9 mid-season 4 and eventually formed London Spitfire. They have since participated in 3 seasons of KR Contenders in 2018 with new players (notably finishing 2nd in S2) before rebranding to Team Griffin.

Decay (DPS): KDP to LA Gladiators

r0ar (Main Tank): KDP to LA Gladiators

YOUNGJIN (DPS): KDP to Shanghai Dragons

DDing (Flex/DPS): KDP to Shanghai Dragons

Luffy (Main Support): KDP to Shanghai Dragons

CoMa (Flex Support): KDP to Shanghai Dragons

Void (Offtank): KDP to LA Gladiators

Clestyn (Offtank): Team Griffin to London Spitfire

Total Points: 16

3) O2 Ardeont / O2 Team / O2 Blast / Stormquake: 2018 S1, S2, S3, 2019 S1, 2019 S2

Another team to have played all 5 seasons of KR Contenders is O2 Blast, previously known as O2 Ardeont, O2 Team. O2 Ardeont, one of the earlier iterations of this team, qualified for KR Contenders 2018 S1 despite no APEX experience and went on to achieve 2nd place, losing 4–0 to a dominant X6 gaming in the finals. They continued to play in KR Contenders for the remaining 2 seasons in 2018 but started to slide down the rankings. Deciding to merge with Stormquake, another KR Contenders team, proved to be a good decision for the organisation, resulting in 2 Top 4 finishes in 2019.

Lastro (Flex Support): StormQuake to Skyfoxes to LA Valiant

Viol2t (Flex Support): O2 Ardeont to SF Shock

Ivy (DPS): O2 Ardeont to Toronto Defiant

Stellar (DPS): O2 Ardeont to Toronto Defiant

Yakpung (Main Tank): O2 Ardeont to Toronto Defiant

RoKy (Main Support): O2 Team to Toronto Defiant

Highly (Main Support): O2 Team to Seoul Dynasty

RaiN (Main Support): O2 Blast to Florida Mayhem

TTuba (DPS): O2 Blast to Bubble Burster Gaming to Washington Justice

Myunbong (Flex Support): O2 Blast to Boston Uprising

Cr0ng (Flex/DPS): O2 Blast to Guangzhou Charge

Mandu (Main Support): O2 Blast to NYXL

Total points: 22

2) Element Mystic: 2018 S1, S2, S3, 2019 S1, 2019 S2

Despite being a relatively new team (never taking part in any APEX seasons), Element Mystic have proven themselves time and time again, being one of the only 3 teams to have participated in each of the 5 KR Contenders seasons. Even with many of their players being picked up, they have also achieved great results in the competition, getting 1st in 2019 S1 and 2nd places in two other seasons.

Happy (DPS): EM to Blossom to Guangzhou Charge

Fearless (Main Tank): EM to Shanghai Dragons

Guard (Flex/DPS): EM to London Spitfire

Heesu (DPS): EM to RunAway to Philadelphia Fusion

Jecse (Main Support): EM to Seoul Dynasty

Pokpo (Main Tank): EM to Atlanta Reign

DACO (Offtank): EM to Atlanta Reign

Rapel (Flex Support): EM to Vancouver Titans

Sp9rk1e (DPS): EM to Paris Eternal

Hanbin (Offtank): EM to Paris Eternal

Xzi (DPS): EM to Paris Eternal

Doha (DPS): EM to Dallas Fuel

Total points: 22

1) RunAway: 2018 S1, S2, S3, 2019 S1, 2019 S2

Owned by Korean couple Runner and Flowervin, RunAway is arguably the most well-known team playing in KR Contenders. From their pink hoodies to being funded personally by the owners, they were fan favourites despite seemingly unable to win any championships before finally clinching the 2019 S2 title. Being another of the 3 teams who have played in all 5 seasons of KR Contenders, RunAway is also the most accomplished team in the whole KR Contenders scene, with 3 1st places and 2 3rd-4th placings.

Tizi (Main Tank): RunAway to London Spitfire

Haksal (DPS): RunAway to Vancouver Titans

Hooreg (DPS): RunAway to Vancouver Titans

Stitch (DPS): RunAway to Vancouver Titans

SeoMinSoo (Flex/DPS): RunAway to Vancouver Titans

JJANU (Offtank): RunAway to Vancouver Titans

Bumper (Main Tank): RunAway to Vancouver Titans

SLIME (Main Support): RunAway to Vancouver Titans

Twilight (Flex Support): RunAway to Vancouver Titans

Schwi (DPS): RunAway to London Spitfire

Yaki (DPS): RunAway to Florida Mayhem

Gangnamjin (Flex Support): RunAway to Florida Mayhem

Heesu (DPS): RunAway to Philadelphia Fusion

LeeJaeGon (Main Support): RunAway to Shanghai Dragons

Total points: 28