Overwatch League 2019 Play-In Preview: Philadelphia Fusion VS Shanghai DragonsOn 30th August, the 10th seed Philadelphia Fusion will face off against the 11th seed Shanghai Dragons for the chance to progress onto the second round of the play-ins. After disappointing stage 4 showings from both teams, with Fusion going 3-4 and Shanghai putting up an abysmal 1-6 performance, neither are looking too hot. These two teams originally battled in stage 3 week 5 at the Atlanta Reign homestand, where Shanghai took a 3-1 victory over the Fusion right before tearing through playoffs. Consequently, the Fusion will be looking for revenge now that they’re fighting to compete in front of their home crowd at the Wells Fargo centre in Philadelphia.
In the new patch, we’re looking to enter a shield-heavy metagame where Orisa is still the queen main tank and Sigma is introduced as a high-damage, low mobility off tank. Damage heroes will be unable to rely so much on individual mechanics and the goal will be to have greater coordination and execution than the enemy team, as there will potentially be two shields to negotiate at any time. With regards to the tanks, the front line of the Dragons is questionable. Throughout the first three stages of the 2019 season, Shanghai hesitated to play their off-tank specialists, almost always subbing them out for ‘DDing’ on Sombra. Once they were forced to run an off-tank in stage 4, they crumbled. Shanghai must now put their faith in ‘Envy’, their recent addition, on Sigma, or re-introduce ‘Geguri’ to the main line up. Alternatively, they may place one of their DPS players on the Dutch astrophysicist. On the other hand, Philadelphia have a decent set of tanks. ‘SADO’ has been a satisfactory Orisa and ‘Poko’ is still one of the better D.Vas in the league. Hopefully, Poko will adapt to Sigma well and help Fusion win the shield wars. Attention must be drawn to the damage players on both teams, especially ‘EQO’ and ‘Youngjin’. The Fusion’s Israeli DPS has quietly become a fantastic Mei player, which will prove highly beneficial for the squad in orange. Youngjin has been a stellar Doomfist throughout the 2019 season. He was one of the most influential factors in Shanghai’s stage 3 victory, causing chaos for Diem and DDing to thrive in. Doomfist is rumoured to be the best DPS in the double shield meta so it’ll be exciting to see Youngjin on his comfort pick. I certainly hope so, as Shanghai severely struggled with their DPS rotation in stage 4; they lacked a solid Mei and Reaper, which put them at a significant disadvantage. For support, Shanghai has the slight edge; Coma’s decision-making during fights has astounded me, most notably when he uses immaculate guardian angel angles to body block for his DPS. The most important aspect of support play will be how well the Lucios can peel for their tanks and time their speed boosts to engage onto the enemy team. Keep a close eye on Neptuno and Coma to see who executes more efficiently. Overall, I’m predicting the Philadelphia Fusion to take the series in a 4-2 scrap-fest, taking them to a match against the London Spitfire or Seoul Dynasty for the chance to compete in the top 8 playoffs. However, unless Shanghai suddenly catch fire, like in their stage 3 playoffs run, I fail to see either of these two teams making it past a second team in the post season. Nevertheless, I’ll continue to support Philadelphia Fusion, win or lose. If you’d like to see more of my content, follow me on Twitter (@ReactionGaming3), where I post all articles and other work. Images courtesy of Shanghai Dragons’ Twitter and Philadelphia Fusion’s Twitter
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Overwatch League 2019 Play-In Preview: Chengdu Hunters VS Guangzhou ChargeOn Friday 30th, the long-awaited Overwatch League post-season begins, with an exciting match between the rising Guangzhou Charge and the unorthodox Chengdu Hunters. As playoff hopes are on the line, both teams will be giving their all to come out on top as the superior Chinese organisation.
Since stage one, the Chengdu Hunters have refused to play to the meta. Instead, they make full use of their star player ‘Ameng’, who is widely regarded as the best Wrecking Ball player in the world, as well as a solid Orisa. Backing him up is the stellar damage duo of ‘Jinmu’ and ‘YangXiaoLong’. Throughout the entire year, Jinmu has been one of the most mechanically talented DPS, showing his mastery of projectile aim on Pharah. Furthermore, he’s a phenomenal Doomfist. With regards to the supports, ‘Yveltal’ and ‘Kyo’ have done a great job keeping Ameng and the DPS alive while they weave in and out of the enemy team. On the other side of the match-up, the Guangzhou Charge solidified themselves as a top team in stage 4, only dropping a single match against the London Spitfire in a thrilling series. Most notably, ‘Happy’ and ‘Nero’ were in the conversation for the best DPS duo in stage 4. Happy’s Widowmaker lit up kill-feeds often and his proficiency on Reaper and Hanzo was also remarkable. Additionally, Nero adapted to the role of Mei with ease; his wall placement frequently locked tanks and supports in a frosty coffin for the rest of the team to follow up on. Another aspect of the team I’d like to draw attention to is the main tank ‘Rio’. While he certainly struggled on the Reinhardt during the GOATs meta, his transition to Orisa has been fantastic, allowing his team to effectively hold down objectives. Unfortunately, ‘Shu’ will likely be forced to play Moira in this new meta so his impact will not be felt so much, due to the nature of the hero. However, one of the most interesting mirrors for this game will be ‘Elsa’, Chengdu’s off-tank, VS ‘Hotba’ of Guangzhou. With the introduction of Sigma, we’ll likely see both players fulfil the role of the Dutch physicist. I believe that whichever team has the better Sigma player will likely win this game, as the immense damage output and accretion ability available to the hero are outstanding. Many fans predict that Hotba will take to the hero very well; his experience with heroes and aiming styles across all roles demonstrates his exceptional flexibility and will allow him to adapt to the new hero with ease. One player that has been largely forgotten is ‘Eileen’, who spent most of stage 4 on the bench in favour of Nero. However, I expect him to make an appearance in the play-ins as a Doomfist specialist on certain maps. It’s expected that Doomfist is one of the most powerful damage heroes for the Sigma patch because of his ability to massacre Sigma if his accretion is on cooldown. I believe that the Guangzhou Charge will take this series 4-1, only dropping a map on control. Chengdu lost to the Charge in stage 3 and I struggle to see the Hunters turning it around when the lights are brightest and their season is on the line. They will be unable to rely so much the individual skill of Jinmu and Ameng and will likely crumble against the Charge’s superior teamwork. Despite this, it will still be an exciting match to watch. The winner of this match will go on to face the Seoul Dynasty, who ended their season in a sour defeat against the Philadelphia Fusion. Nonetheless, their strong core of players will prove a worthy test for whichever team comes out the victor. Keep an eye out for the match tomorrow night for Sigma's professional debut and this exciting clash between two Chinese rivals. If you’d like to see more of my content, follow me on Twitter (@ReactionGaming3), where I post all articles and other work. Image courtesy of https://thegamehaus.com/overwatch/guangzhou-charge/overwatch-league-recap-guangzhou-charge-vs-chengdu-hunters/2019/02/16/ Hitscan DPS: Practice, Warm Ups and Metagames - Interview with 'SnorrLaxZ' of Team IcelandIn Overwatch, the role of damage is often split into two categories. The first is ‘flex DPS’, which is comprised of projectile heroes, including Pharah and Genji and the other oddball choices in the damage category, such as Doomfist. The second is ‘hitscan DPS’, where any bullets fired inflict damage instantly due to having zero travel time. The heroes which comprise the hitscan role are: Widowmaker, McCree, Tracer, Sombra, Ashe, Soldier:76, Bastion and Reaper. Outside of Bastion and Reaper, hitscan heroes are flimsy; due to low health pools and no armour, they are to dive onto or rush down once you force out their cooldowns.
Consequently, hitscan DPS requires strict positioning to ensure survival. Additionally, it is one of the most mechanically demanding roles as your impact relies almost entirely on how well you can aim; if you aren’t landing consistent shots onto enemy supports and your damage counterparts, you’ll get little value out of the pick. Furthermore, it’s one of the most saturated roles in tier 3 and above, making it somewhat hard to stand out from the rest of the players in the role. However, should you master your mechanics, hitscan DPS has some of the highest carry potential of any role, allowing you to swing team fights with insta-kill headshots or rushing down and tracking supports. Snorri ‘SnorrLaxZ’ Hafsteinsson fulfils this role for Team Iceland in the 2019 World Cup, a team which has received recognition as one of the scarier prospects for the tournament due to having veteran leadership in ‘Hafficool’ and ‘Finnsi’, alongside exciting new talent. SnorrLaxZ was kind enough to answer some questions regarding the hitscan role, on topics such as warm ups, practice and hitscan in the current metagame. (Abbreviations and other meanings: · IMO – In my opinion · FPS – First Person Shooter · OW – Overwatch · AFAIK – As far as I know · CS:GO – Counter Strike: Global Offensive · MOBA - Multiplayer online battle arena ) As a hitscan player, how do you usually warm up before a game? As a hitscan I start the day with a custom game against 6 Lucios at 150% speed, track them as Tracer / Sombra[;] I do this to warm up my movement in-game[.] After I feel comfortable and up to speed I'll change the 6 bots to Ana's and "track-flick" them as Widow & McCree. Often right before matches I do a 1v1 session with either someone on the team or friends of mine as widow on ruins, just to get into the mindgame of Widow Duels, be unpredictable and such. Do you think external aim training programs are beneficial or are they just a gimmick now that we have such features in the workshop? I think that 3rd party aim trainers can be really good initially to get "comfortable" with your mouse[.] However this does not mean that it improves your aim in Overwatch, more so your comfort & skill in handling a mouse. Overwatch is way more about movement mechanics than people think IMO. I haven't used the workshop too much but the Widow[maker] Arena is really nice. Another note to it is, Bots will never have the same predictability as humans, in that sense that practising on bots will not give you the same results as training against humans. What shooter games have you played in the past? Do you feel you’ve been able to transfer skills from those games over to Overwatch? Overwatch is actually my first FPS on PC, I did play a bit of Call of Duty when I was like 11[.] However I've played over 6000 hours of League of Legends, which had a lot of transferable elements over to OW, since it’s a MOBA. AFAIK XQC did the same. Why did you decide to become a hitscan specialist? Was it just you enjoying the role or you were encouraged by watching a pro player? When I started playing Overwatch I didn't really enjoy it[.] However Roadhog was really satisfying, and I used to always play with a friend of mine, Pickers, and he had insane aim on McCree, since he used to play a lot of CS:GO. We both took a break from Overwatch in season 4[.] However I came back season 5 and he didn't so I was always lacking that carry potential in McCree that he brought, so I just started playing him and streaming that, which was really fun, but in the end McCree was really bad so Widow was the next hero, and now I'm hooked to the dink sound. Also[,] my Idol is Carpe[.] I look up to that guy. Do you think hardcore hitscan heroes (e.g. Widowmaker and McCree) will still have a role in the meta now that Sigma is in the game? Or do you think Reaper will be the only viable hero from the role? Widow[maker] still is meta[.] It is a bit map dependent but she is still strong[;] some maps you tend to play double sniper, but Hanzo is really strong right now, so Mei + Hanzo is dominating[.] Weirdly enough the Hitscan role has to play projectile. Reaper is really strong as well[.] I think he needs to be a bit looked at, same goes for Mei. I think you could actually force Reaper / Mei on every map, but a player will play better on a hero they really like playing, so maybe that has something to say as well. With regards to your overused tendinitis, has it made practising more difficult in any way? Yes! Practicing is really hard, I am not really allowed to practice for now, but I can't stop myself. It feels like I am playing with input lag, and sometimes I get really painful "stings", I am just making sure I play a bit less and talking to my personal Doctor. Who is your favourite hitscan hero to play? My favourite hitscan has to be Widowmaker, however I am seen as a Sombra specialist to some, which I must thank the Coach DarkZero for. I have not had a better time in my life than in the Goats / Sombra Goats meta, I felt like I could really control a team and be a deciding factor in the result. In that meta I really got to improve and learn a lot about the game, and I'll always cherish that. I think Sombra is one of the heroes that made me improve incredibly fast in short amounts of time, again, a lot of help from DarkZero. If you want to keep up to date with SnorrLaxZ, follow him on Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/snorrlaxz) and Twitter (@SnorrLaxZ). Keep an eye out for him and rest of Team Iceland in the World Cup; they may surprise you. If you’d like to see more of my content, follow me on Twitter (@ReactionGaming3), where I post all articles and other work. Photo courtesy of SnorrLaxZ’s Twitter. World Cup Spotlight: Team Poland - Interview with General Manager 'Xandie' (Originally Posted 20/08/2019)Following an unfortunate 0-5 performance in the 2018 Paris qualifier, Team Poland is returning in 2019 to prove themselves as a team worthy of the international stage, for world cup, Contenders and beyond. The '7 Eagles' are made of four returning players, alongside three fresh faces.
The roster for Team Poland:
As for his personal play, Danye has demonstrated his mechanical ability in a variety of aiming styles, such as tracking on Sombra and flick-shots on Widowmaker. Other notable heroes in his arsenal include Genji, Doomfist and Pharah.
For the committee, Theo (@TheophilTV), a content creator for Blizzard games, is the community lead and 'Arek2597' (@arek2597) is the head coach. Kasia 'Xandie' Janoszka (@Xandiella), manager for NocturnalGGs, is the general manager of the team. Outside of her past team commitments, Xandie developed the Overwatch MB European Invitational, which is the largest collaborative community project for Overwatch third-party tournaments. Additionally, she is COO for Monkey Bubble. I was lucky enough to interview Xandie about Team Poland in the 2019 World Cup, her time in Overwatch and the challenges of being a general manager for an esports team: (Abbreviations and other meanings:
My goal as a manager is getting my players to Blizzcon and having them show themselves from the best possible side and get the chance to hopefully be scouted for tier 2/OWL in the near future. Why did you decide to run for General Manager of Team Poland? I have already tried to be the manager last year but sadly I was not selected by Blizzard as last year's GM selection was different from this year. This year I decided to try again because I love what I do as a manager and I wanted to use my experience to help my team in getting to Blizzcon and playing in this year's World Cup. Which countries are you most excited to face in the World Cup? I think that it would be Germany as Poland and Germany are always competing in football[.] Additionally to that[,] Poland and Germany had a very close game last year during the Group Stage in Paris. Apart from his individual play, what other benefits do you think Danye will provide for your team? (As an Overwatch League player alongside tier 3 players) I think that Danye[,] as the most experienced player on the team[,] will provide not only the mechanical skill but also experience if it comes to dealing with stress during games played on stage. Our top 7 this year has a few players that have never played in front of big audience and I think his experience from last year's World Cup and Overwatch League will come handy. What are your responsibilities as General Manager? According to the Blizzard booklet my responsibilities as a Manager is being the Point of Contact, contacting sponsors and sorting out the travel and accommodation for the trip to USA. I am in contact with Blizzard about any issues that could come up regarding our selected players, submitting the roster and any additional information Blizzard requires from us and we are still fighting to secure sponsors to be able to travel to USA. Once that is done I will have to sort through players passports, schedule their Visa appointments and make sure everyone is ready and set to go. Aside from the responsibilities assigned to me by Blizzard I also book scrims for our team and do the traditional team management stuff that during World Cup [is] assigned to the team coach (according to Blizzard). Outside of the World Cup, what are the challenges you face when managing a team or players from multiple different countries? To be fair, every team is different so it's hard to really say what challenges [every team would face] but I think communication issues would be the main issue with multinational teams. Sometimes cultural things came into play like a country having a traditional family dinner during a specific time during the week where the team couldn't scrim or a joke one of the players said that another found offensive due to his nationality. It was never anything very complicated or hard to solve. What is your favourite part of being a manager of an Overwatch team? I think that my favourite part of being a manager is seeing the players I managed in the past succeed on their path to pro. It just puts a big smile on my face every time I see a familiar name announced on an Academy team. Of course[,] it's also nice when you have a player you manage or managed in the past come to you and thank you for the work done on the team or players that come back to me after months asking for advice with their new teams or career decisions. By far my favourite part is my old players just messaging me out of nowhere to check in when they get on a new team! It's nice to be appreciated for the work you do. What are your personal goals for your career in Overwatch? To be fair I would obviously like to at least get to manage an Academy team. Aside from managing I am also running an org which organises tournaments, so I am hoping that I can help with the growth of the org, secure some serious sponsors and run some high quality tournaments with prize pools that could support the scene and the players trying to make esports their career. Who is your favourite character in Overwatch? My favourite character in Overwatch is Sombra. I love the way Blizzard created the hero, both her personality as well as the looks. The way she interacts with other characters and the smug way she speaks make her extremely entertaining. I really enjoy her playstyle but sadly I only get to play her in arcade or quick play as in comp[etitive] I manly [play] Off Tank or Heals. Also[,] I love purple. Xandie is looking for a Contenders team to join as a manager. With her extensive experience in esports management and coordinating teams of multiple different cultures, she would make a stellar addition to any team. If you want to keep up to date with Team Poland, follow them on Twitter (@OWTeamPoland) and keep an eye on them in November when the World Cup rolls around. If you'd like to see more of my content, follow me on Twitter (@ReactionGaming3), where I post all articles, YouTube videos and Twitch streams. Sources: https://liquipedia.net/overwatch/Team_Poland https://liquipedia.net/overwatch/Danye https://liquipedia.net/overwatch/IDxD https://liquipedia.net/overwatch/Philion https://liquipedia.net/overwatch/Mesic World Cup Spotlight: Team Spain - Interview with Head Coach 'DarkZero' (Originally Posted 17/08/2019)Following a winless display at the 2018 Bangkok qualifiers, Team Spain are looking for redemption in 2019. This year, the team is boasting an almost entirely new roster; the only returning competitor is 'HarryHook', who is fulfilling the flex support role. This team has a variety of talent, with players from Overwatch League teams to tier 3 talent performing in Overwatch Andromeda. After working their way through one of the most interesting trial processes, with streamer 'Redshell' in the running and plenty of fresh talent, Spain finally came to their 7-man roster.
The team consists of the following players:
However, neptuNo will instead be playing hitscan DPS in this year's world cup. Before he was a support, neptuNo was a damage player, most notably succeeding with McCree. The best thing neptuNo brings to this team is strong shot-calling, a strong understanding of the game at the highest level of play and experience on an international stage, all incredibly advantageous for Spain.
HarryHook has a long history of success in competitive Overwatch, winning Overwatch APEX Season 1, sweeping Faze Clan twice to secure first place finishes at both Contenders 2017 Season 1 and MLG Vegas 2016, along with a top 4 finish in Overwatch League Season 1 Stage 4 playoffs. On Team Spain, he'll bring the mindset necessary for a world cup team, keeping the less experienced players calm and focussed during high pressure situations.
The committee is constructed of the following staff. Tibix (@OfficialTibix), CEO of Titan Media, is the general manager, ensuring scrim schedules and travel plans for the team run smoothly. Darkzero (@PushPayloadTv), former head coach of Chicken Contendies and Orgless and Hungry, will be the head coach for Team Spain. His wealth of experience in contenders will be greatly beneficial for the team, allowing them to adapt to whatever the meta may be and grow significantly. Returning as community lead is Mami 'Kaquka' Bea (@kaquka), a highly popular Twitch streamer. I was fortunate enough to interview DarkZero concerning Team Spain heading into the 2019 World Cup and his own time in competitive Overwatch: (Abbreviations and other meanings:
I wanted to represent my country and I believed that my experience through contenders NA and EU would allow me to help the Spanish community to level up their game since there is a huge gap between OWL players like Neptuno and Harry[hook] and the rest of the community. I wanted to share my experience and try to build players that could shine [on] an international stage. Is there a particular country you're hoping to play against? Not really. I'm confident we can put up a good fight against anyone we meet but I don't really have a team that I want to play against. As someone who has worked in both North American and European Contenders, do you think there is a skill gap between the two regions? I don't think so. NA has some really good talent but EU is full of capable players that can shine against anyone in the entire world. I respect both regions a lot but I don't think there is any skill gap whatsoever. What led to you becoming an Overwatch Coach? I've always wanted to help people. While I was a teen I was a semi-professional swimmer and I had a really strong bond with my coach, which led into me participating in national and international tournaments. The way he shaped me and made me grow up as an individual is something that is always [...] special to me. I wanted to have the impact he [had] on me but on other players, help them grow, give them a hand whenever they need it. With Sigma being available for the world cup, do you think he will have much of an impact? I think Sigma will definitely have an impact. A new hero, in a tournament like the world cup[,] can lead into really interesting and maybe cheesy strats. I don't see Sigma as a meta-shattering hero but definitely interesting in some situations and compositions. Who is your favourite hero in Overwatch? My favourite is Ana. I think [she] is the most balanced hero in the game and the ability to create big plays with each one of her cooldowns plus her ultimate is something that I loved from the very first moment I played her. Also, I've always had this "support" mentality so being a healer that has playmaking potential fits me big time. If you want to keep up with Team Spain, follow them on Twitter (@SpainOWWC) and look out for them come November 2019! If you'd like to see more of my content, follow me on Twitter (@ReactionGaming3), where I post all articles and other work. Sources: https://liquipedia.net/overwatch/Team_Spain https://liquipedia.net/overwatch/HarryHook https://liquipedia.net/overwatch/T3lle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DO-W5aJWgV4 https://liquipedia.net/overwatch/NeptuNo Image courtesy of Team Spain's Twitter World Cup Spotlight: Team Iceland - Interview with General Manager 'Fusi' (Originally Posted 11/08/2019)After being absent for the 2017 and 2018, the Gyrfalcons of Team Iceland are looking to soar at the 2019 Overwatch World Cup. With a highly varied roster of players and staff, Team Iceland are an intriguing prospect for the upcoming competition.
Their team consists of the following players:
However, with two flex-supports, Iceland find themselves with an issue on their hands. As a result, we'll likely see compositions with both Ana and either Zenyatta, Baptiste or Moira, unless one of them decide to pick up Mercy or Lucio before the start of the tournament. Fortunately, both of these players are talented on their heroes, which will make up for the unideal role assortment. Backing up this set of six is the committee of head coach 'Elmaestro' (@OwMaestro), community lead 'Queenofdorkz' (@QueenofDorkz) and general manager 'Fúsi' (@Vigfusion). Fúsi was kind enough to answer my questions concerning the upcoming World Cup in an interview: (Abbreviations and other meanings:
Since late 2016 I've been ingrained heavily in the Icelandic Overwatch scene. I formed a team with the best players I found and with it we won the national championship. I started playing competitively after the first world cup in 2016, but I waited patiently for the world cup the next year, but then Blizzard decided to change the entry requirements to the tournament so Iceland was basically disqualified with other smaller countries. I voiced my opinion to Blizzard in 2017 and 2018 when I was actively playing the game, then this year when they changed things around, I am not playing the game at the same mechanical level that I was in previous years so I decided to push the tournament to our community and gathered people to apply for the committee. With my knowledge of the local Overwatch community I think I am the best candidate. What are the goals for Team Iceland as a whole? (e.g. in terms of play, standings and community) Team Iceland has a lot to show after missing out on two world cups and some missed earthshatters in 2016. Back in 2016 our lineup was a bit different having a youtuber in the team, but still having three players active in high tiered competitive teams. Two from the previous national team roster will be joining us again with no surprise, Finnsi (Paris Eternal) and Hafficool (Team Envy). Iceland has shown through sports that it is not to be dismissed, and I believe with our strong lineup and support that we will go far. The Icelandic community is small and we will see many people supporting the team, I think it's very likely that we will reach national news and get coverage on news websites. Do you think it will be difficult trying to get players at difficult skill levels to work as a single coordinated unit? Or do you think just having the experienced players will help the other works to a higher level? I believe that working together will not be an issue. Finnsi and Haffi have great experience and will definitely be able to guide the other players, who are always open for pointers. The communication is great and very healthy between everyone. Is there a particular country you're most looking forward to playing against? Maybe a rematch against team Ireland or the titans South Korea? I can't wait to see how Iceland will fare against the top 10 teams seeing that they have many great professional players and coaches, both in scrims, in the single elimination bracket and of course we will meet them on the Blizzcon stage. With the coming 2-2-2 lock and possible meta changes I look forward to playing against all teams, teams that we have previously scrimmed and also teams in other regions that we can't play against due to geographic boundaries. Would there be any other plans for Team Iceland while in the United States, apart from just competing? We look forward to going to the US as a team. There are no airlines that fly directly to LA anymore so we will have to stop somewhere on the way, we might use that opportunity to look around New York or Seattle. Apart from that we have no specific plans right now. Were Overwatch World Cup teams given early access to Sigma? He was leaked early by Team Mexico and many are wondering if teams were made aware early to give them more preparation time. The OW national teams have no specific access to test servers other than the PTR everybody has access to. If Mexico's Twitter guess wasn't just a really good guess, then Team Mexico might have some ties to the Los Muertos. Who is your favourite hero to play? My favourite hero has always been D.Va and I usually main off-tanks. With the 2019 Overwatch World Cup starting on Friday 1st November, Iceland will be looking to prove themselves as a top 10 team and reach the group stage. If you'd like to keep up to date with Team Iceland, follow their team Twitter account (@IcelandOW https://twitter.com/icelandow) and the individual players. If you'd like to see more of my content, follow me on Twitter (@ReactionGaming3), where I post all articles and other work. Sources: https://medium.com/@setanta_ow/team-ireland-vs-team-iceland-sigma-scrim-d21d438ffd14 https://playoverwatch.com/en-gb/news/22944574 https://liquipedia.net/overwatch/Team_Iceland Image courtesy of Team Iceland's Twitter World Cup Spotlight: Team Greece - Interview with 'Ilka', 'Kendar' and 'Drunkenpony' (Originally Posted 09/08/2019)After being absent for the last two world cups, Team Greece are looking to make a resurgence in 2019 as 'The Trojan Horse'. After an arduous trial process, they announced their seven-man roster:
I was fortunate to interview all three members of the committee concerning their introductions to Overwatch and the upcoming world cup: Drunkenpony (Community Lead): What are your goals for Team Greece? Personally[,] my goals[,] being the community leader of Greece[, are] to have a consistent branding, and do my best to promote my country to the outside world. On the gaming aspect, I want Greece to get recognition for their effort and I want us to have the best possible showing we can have. Being realistic I'd say our top goal would be reaching groups. Last but not least I want to showcase the skill level of some of those Greek unknown players! How did you get into Overwatch? A dear person of mine bought the game for me[.] Then I started being a manager for an org[anisation] named Eternal Eclipse, and then made my own org since I got hooked with it. My idea was to give our family business (a fashion brand) exposure through gaming and hence Prophet SKG was made. Is there a particular team you're hoping to face? Maybe a rematch against Team South Africa? I would totally want to have a rematch against South Africa for sure, their community is really nice and enjoyable! Aside that I'd love to play against teams that my players play for[,] so Italy [and] Austria. Last but not least I'd want to face Ireland and Portugal because they have great communities as well! What's your opinion on the new age restriction? [On] a personal level it doesn't affect team Greece a lot .But I know it's hard for other countries[.] In my opinion World Cup would be better to be showcasing talent unproven on top of that, although I understand that popular players should be playing and also owl players as well since they are at the top level, and everyone wants to watch their country's best players. What does your role as a community lead consist of? I think every country has a bit different definition and a role even if technically it's the same role[.] I am currently doing all the social media work along[side] my assistants, also planning scrims, show[-]matches and streams whenever possible. Generally[,] the main point for me is to have a consistent and powerful branding which will give exposure to both our players and our sponsors! Who's your favourite Overwatch hero? My favourite hero is Zenyatta[.] I just love the fact that you can do pretty much everything with him, while you are a healer you can technically "pop off " and frag [.] I play a very aggressive style as well[,] which helps a lot. I think the skill capacity of the hero is superb since you are squishy and very essential with your discord you can't afford to do mistakes, kinda like the work of a community leader, you cannot do mistakes you have to have everything under control and do your absolute best. Kendar (General Manager): What are your goals for Team Greece? My goals for the team are few but very important. Build the best possible roster, sign a deal with sponsors willing to support us, get the team to Blizzcon and finally make Team Greece a guaranteed competitor in each World Cup! How did you get into Overwatch? I was part of the original hype train before the release, I loved how unique and fun the gameplay was and up to this day i do not regret it! Is there a particular team you're hoping to face? Maybe a rematch against Team South Africa? Instead of hoping to face specific teams, we will give our best in every single match we will take part in! We have a great relationship with Team South Africa, we would really love to arrange another friendly match against them or anyone willing to do it. What's your opinion on the new age restriction? It might be unfair to young talents but I believe the decision to not include them in this year's World Cup is correct. Having an underaged player in your team, especially in such a big campaign, can lead to a lot of issues. Who's your favourite Overwatch hero? My favourite Overwatch hero is Widowmaker, always loved snipers, always will! Ilka (Head Coach): What are your goals for Team Greece? Goal for Team Greece is to have a good showcase of our abilities. As I have said before in other interviews, the team is inexperienced. Not many have had the opportunity to compete on high level outside of ranked. So[,] preparing and showing a strong performance, is what our goal is so that the players can hopefully get better opportunities in the near future. How did you get into Overwatch? I got into Overwatch a tiny bit after its release, me and my friends thought we should give it a try. I was a LoL/DotA - Dota 2 player and I liked the MOBA part of it but I also enjoyed first person MMOs and Overwatch kind of reminded me of that style. I never really played shooting games before, outside of CS 1.6 back then, so I decided I wanted to be a support player like I was in League so I can focus on the calling aspect of the game since I had experience moving from shotcalling in MOBAs. Is there a particular team you're hoping to face? Maybe a rematch against Team South Africa? The teams I would like to face are team Netherlands and team Portugal. Team Netherlands has many friends and people I know such as Casores (Head Coach), Brussen, Vizility, JVP (General Manager) etc. I think it would be a fun game for the both of us. Team Portugal has 2 of my players from Angry Titans, Phatt and AFoxx, so I hope we get to play each other as well. Should also be a fun one. Any rematch is welcomed as well, I haven't had the time so far to commit with Team Greece due to being with Angry Titans this season of Contenders. Now that this is done with, having rematches would be nice so I can be there and prepare the team for better results. What's your opinion on the new age restriction? The new age restriction kind of limits the possibilities for teams (I know some countries that relied on upcoming young talent). I wouldn't say it hurts the scene[.] I just believe that there is a reasoning behind it. Perhaps Blizzard is more into showcasing current, OWL-ready talent rather than the younger ones. I assume that this is the direction World Cup is heading towards but that's simply my speculation. I would still like to see young talent on stage, brings up the hype for upcoming individuals and it's helpful for the kids to showcase their talent in a bigger audience and have the eyes of the scouts on them. Who's your favourite Overwatch hero? My favourite hero is Genji. I just love the skill ceiling of the character and the mechanics he offers. He's fun to play with and pulling out dash resets or clutch. If you'd like to keep up with Team Greece and see more of their content, follow their official page (@TeamGreeceOw). If you'd like to see more of my content, follow me on Twitter (@ReactionGaming3), where I post all articles and other work. Interview with 'Spades' - Path to Pro, 2/2/2 Lock, State of the Off-Tank Role (Originally Posted 09/08/2019)Spades is a tier 3 off-tank player with an impressive peak of 4.5k SR. Having competed for teams such as Monarchs, Dogmen Akita and ATG (later American Revolution), to name just a few, he's a highly experienced player in the tier 3 scene. He's a positive figure in our community and a daily streamer. I was fortunate enough to interview Spades on topics such as his time in competitive Overwatch, the path to pro environment and the 2/2/2 role lock:
(Abbreviations and other meanings:
"Absolutely. There's no question about it. Last stage was I think the most egregious when we saw previously top tier players like Space, Meko and other off-tanks benched in favour of just running a 3rd DPS who could vaguely flex onto D.Va if necessary. 2/2/2 brings all roles into relevance regardless of what the meta might be." Despite Roadhog rising to popularity recently, his pick rate is still below D.Va's. In the new role lock, do you think we will ever see another off tank have a higher pick rate than her? "Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on who you ask), it's unlikely we'll see our favourite Korean gamer drop from popularity anytime soon. Regardless of how effective Roadhog may be in ladder, in coordinated play D.Va provides far more utility to her team with matrix and fly (as a boop). Her bomb is also much more useful as a combo tool with Orisa['s] pull [halt ability]. We'll still see [Road]Hog used in some shield break comp[osition]s, and it may become the case where Hog is picked more often in ladder despite D.Va being picked more in OWL. A bit of competitive strata, if you will." What is your general opinion on the path to pro system? Is there anything you would personally like to see change? "Hot take, the path to pro system works (to an extent). Talented players generally rise up above the others, get poached to super teams in open [division], make Contenders, beat academy teams, get poached by academy teams, and then (if there is luck) uplifted to OWL. There are a variety of improvements that need to be made though. Putting Contenders in the Blizzard launcher when it's live would help, as well as just generally promoting it more during OWL streams. It wouldn't take much to say "future stars of OWL are competing in Contenders tomorrow at this time" and that would bring more attention to the scene. This is specifically with regards to NA. It's abundantly clear that there is a serious region divide as to where players are looked at. Additionally, laxing up a little on sponsor restrictions could go a mile toward allowing 3rd party money to revitalise a scene that's starving because of [a lack of] money." [Tier 2 teams are not allowed to have sponsorship deals with companies offering specific services, including anything that competes with Blizzard, alcohol, drugs, tobacco, vapes and gambling amongst others.] You say this is your last run in competitive Overwatch. Would you describe your time as a positive experience? "I mean how long my run lasts is still yet to be determined. I could get on one of those super teams, make a run all the way up to Contenders, and then picked up to academy. In general[,] I'd describe it as positive[;] there were definitely negative experiences and definitely positive experiences. I've had the opportunity to meet and team with some amazing people during my time here, like {to date) my favourite coach Lurma, Bermuda's Ultimawep and Tea Party's Amadien back on Clarity, XL2's GiG, Second Wind's Berd and Wave Check's Iced on a short lived project team of mine[.] Other amazing people who've made my time in this game easier and more fun [include] Bokk6, Bajr, Lemonkiwi, Schiz, Seamoose, and a host of other players I can't name or I'd just be listing off the tier 3 scene. These are memories that will stick with me [for] the rest of my life." Will you continue to play the game casually, maybe as a streamer in your free time outside of studies? "Well, my studies are coming to an end in May, the same time I've set out as a deadline for myself to make Contenders or make it big as a streamer. I'll probably still play a game or two now and then, whenever I turn on the stream or feel that competitive itch. But it's something I'm prepared to be separated from. In poker, there's a saying about "knowing when to fold 'em". It seems like I'm getting close to that time." Who is your favourite hero in Overwatch? "Saved the hardest question for last huh? To play, it'd probably be Zarya. She was the first off-tank I really became good at, and she was the reason behind my first top 500 finish. As much as I love D.Va[,] [...] she's my favourite right now because of how cool she can feel to play, there's something about the ability to individually laser down everyone on Zarya that's inherently satisfying." Spades is currently looking for a team in tier 3+; with his wealth of experience in open division, he would be a great addition to any team. If you would like to contact him about this, his discord is Spades#1635. If you'd like to see more of Spades, he streams most nights at 11pm EST at twitch.tv/spadesow. Also, you can follow him on Twitter (@SpadesOW) If you'd like to see more of my content, follow me on Twitter (@ReactionGaming3), where I post all articles and other work. Interview with 'Moose' - Clockwork Vendetta, Team Germany and Roadhog Playstyles (Originally Posted 02/08/2019)In the 'pulled pork' meta, Roadhog has become one of the most important characters in Overwatch. His hook secures eliminations and his immense damage helps to break through opposing Orisa shields. However, while everyone else was still running GOATs, one team was barrelling through Open Division, Contenders Trials and Contenders Europe, pioneering the Orisa/Hog/Mei strategy. This team was Clockwork Vendetta, who have now achieved 2nd place in Contenders Europe.
Clockwork Vendetta was comprised of several non-meta hero specialists, such as 'Engineer' for Torbjorn. One of the flashiest players on this team is Max 'Moose' Kießling; with his signature Roadhog, he terrorises support lines and lights up the kill-feed. The flanking playstyle, and incredible hook accuracy, he has makes him particularly entertaining to watch, acting as Clockwork Vendetta's beefy assassin. After his phenomenal performance in Contenders, Moose has been signed to Team Germany as their off-tank, alongside his Clockwork colleague 'Engineer'. While he's certainly best on Roadhog, he's also had strong showings on Wrecking Ball and D.Va too. His main tank counterpart is 'Hadi', who currently competes for British Hurricane. With this highly promising front-line, along with 'Illbethebest' of Shu's Money Crew (another Contenders Europe team), Team Germany will be a highly competitive candidate for a top 8 slot to make the World Cup playoffs. Team Germany's Roster:
I was fortunate enough to interview Moose concerning his time on Clockwork Vendetta, goals for Team Germany and Roadhog playstyle: Abbreviations:
"Back in the days[,] we were a bunch of friends[.] Minimi and me decided to play together and to grab some insane non meta specialists [...] 'nouotp' was born[,] with Ricky[,] Munkmutta[,] Zytor[,] Purge[,] Minimi and me, where we placed 3rd in the first OD season. After that we rebranded and Purge asked us if we wanted to run again under the name Clockwork Vendetta so we did it and OD, trials and now 2nd in the regular season [of Contenders Europe]." Is there a particular player from another country you're looking to land a hook on? Maybe your Austrian teammate Minimi or one of the South Korean supports? "Of course my other teammates[,] like Ricky or Minimi." What are you hoping to achieve on Team Germany? "Give my best, trying to win it with Team Germany as a team to show what I am capable to maybe get picked by OWL". Do you think flank Roadhog will continue to be as powerful, now that more teams are prepared to face the play style? "Yes [it will continue to be powerful], since you can't 1v1 or 1v2 an insane Hog player." Why did you choose Moose as your name? "I played a nice game called 'Wizard101' with my ex-girlfriend where you got pets[,] who get random names. My pet got [the] name 'MightyMoose' so I choose it as [my] IGN and shorten it to Moose since I really love moose." Do you think we could ever get a German Overwatch League franchise? "I have no clue, but I would love to see it." You've been on what's potentially the most incredible run of any European team and become the most popular Roadhog in all of contenders. You've even innovated the strategy which has now become the most popular in this current meta! How would you describe your run in competitive Overwatch? "The Moose is loose! Looking forward to World Cup". Clockwork Vendetta is to face HSL Esports in the Contenders Europe semi-finals for a chance to compete for the title of best tier 2 team in Europe. https://overwatchcontenders.com/en-gb/playoffs If you'd like to see more of Moose and his teams, follow his personal Twitter, Clockwork Vendetta and Team Germany: @ow_moose @clockvendetta @OWTeamGermany Sources: https://liquipedia.net/overwatch/Moose Various Clockwork Vendetta matches Cover picture courtesy of Moose's Twitter If you'd like to see more of my content, follow me on Twitter (@ReactionGaming3), where I post all articles and other work. Interview with Team Italy's 'DragonEddy' - The State of Sigma in Competitive Play and World Cup Aspirations (Originally Posted 01/08/2019)On July 23rd 2019, Sigma was made playable in Overwatch's public testing region (PTR). Since his addition, fans have been unsure of what the best way to use the new character is; his volatile nature makes him capable of both main tank and off tank duties, allowing him to function somewhat in all situations.
While Sigma is currently unavailable in any official Overwatch tournaments, he will be playable come the Overwatch League play-in tournament. This will hopefully give us an indication of the types of compositions and maps he will be most suitable for. While OWL teams are still practising for stage 4, many Overwatch World Cup teams have already begun scrims with the new hero. One player that's already been noticed for his outstanding Sigma play is DragonEddy, a tank player for Overwatch Team Italy. In a recent practice block against Team Ireland, which was streamed, he displayed some remarkable usage of the new abilities available to Sigma. Consequently, DragonEddy ran Sigma almost exclusively in that set. DragonEddy was kind enough to take part in an interview concerning the upcoming world cup and Sigma's place in competitive Overwatch: (Abbreviations and other meanings:
"I feel like Sigma's skill ceiling (and floor as well) is very high due to how dynamic of a hero he is. With that[,] I mean his shield positioning, usage, management, as well as hitting left clicks[,] making them bounce on surfaces or floors." Which tank do you think Sigma works best with? "We haven't tested enough Sigma with dive (only today and yesterday), but he feels really good with Orisa because he can kinda counter Orisa Hog [compositions]. Both his shift ['Kinetic Grasp' - an ability which converts damage to temporary shield health] and shield, if used correctly, can counter the strong combo of pull-hook. Plus[,] you can cycle your abilities with your Orisa's shift [fortify] to completely deny the pull-hook. [Also,] with your Orisa's pull you can use your rock ['accretion'] to stun or even just left click to do big splash damage." Is Sigma a hero you can play anywhere or is it a map-specific pick, from what you can tell so far? "So far I've played him pretty much everywhere we would play Orisa (so Orisa + Sigma). But in dive/against dive [it] is a bit different. Against certain dives (like against Pharah Sombra dive)[,] Sigma suffers a bit of can't do much other than peel the diving tanks, but the problem is all the poke. For example, the one-shot potential of a Hog (+ the combo with pull) would be better because you can one-shot a squishy or even insta[ntly] delete a tank. This is situational though and sometimes map-dependant because on KOTHs, for example Nepal Sanctum, you can deny the sniper's FOV with your shield. [...] On that map, snipers/flex-healers take line of sight on the point from a corner[, and] there are two main ones so there are two corridors of line of the view [...] and you can completely deny one with Sigma. If you are instead playing dive, I'm not sure [if] Sigma is good because, as I said before, I haven't played him enough in dive. But today we did and he felt ok[;] you can allow your main tank to get closer with your shield and considering how dynamic the shield is you can do a lot of things even in dive (deny enemies' line of sight, peel or push/take space). Plus he still eats and gets a lot of damage like D.Va, actually even more, and if you're good you can deal a lot of damage as well. He suffers though if played with dive on high-ground maps like Numbani." As part of Team Italy, what are your goals for the team and for yourself in competitive Overwatch? "For the team (Italy), we first of all of course hope to be able to participate [in the] World Cup. As you know[,] this year not every team is financed by Blizzard so we gotta find some funds/sponsors to go to Blizzcon to play. After that we hope to go to Top 8 and higher, at least that's how I see it. For my personal goals [...] , as everyone else, I'm aiming to play in the [Overwatch] League and specifically to play in NA." Is there a specific country you want to match up against in the World Cup? "Poland (legendary friends from last year), Netherlands (kinda the same like Poland), France (many friends + rivalry between the two countries), UK (friends) and the teams we've been scrimming (so Ireland for example)." Who is your favourite hero in Overwatch? "Honestly, after having played him for a while in scrims, Sigma. I'm not joking[;] he's actually very fun and skilful and I'm very happy with myself improving with him." Sigma is expected to reach the live client mid-August, giving players several months to prepare before the world cup group stages begin on 1st November. In this period, expect changes to Sigma's kit in order to make him as balanced as possible before the competition begins. Until he goes live, you can play Sigma on the PTR alongside the beta version of the new role queue feature. If you'd like to see more of Team Italy and DragonEddy, follow them on Twitter (@TeamItalyOW and @DragonEddyOW). Sources: https://blizztrack.com/patch_notes/overwatch_ptr/60487_3 https://overwatch.gamepedia.com/Sigma https://worldcup.playoverwatch.com/en-gb/ https://playoverwatch.com/en-gb/news/22944574 Picture courtesy of: https://estnn.com/overwatch-we-tested-sigma-against-every-hero-and-heres-what-we-learned/ If you'd like to see more of my content, follow me on Twitter (@ReactionGaming3), where I post all articles and other work. |
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