He entered the league too young to even start in it. Now,
@danteh
might be the face of the Overwatch League.
Last season he had to reinvent himself & switched roles. This year, he will have to redefine the playstyle of the
@LAGladiators
as their only tank.
This is his story👇
This looks like a repurposed Lich King cross over asset to me.
I don't find any meaningful connection to the org or the players other than the color scheme.
Completely disappointing but not the least surprising. Shame.
Some say this is an Overwatch esports day. I disagree. This is a North American esports moment. Entitled children screwing over the few hard-working talents in the scene.
Not the most serious/relevant marker for popularity in 2023, but with Danteh outside the Overwatch League, there's no player with six-digit Twitter followers left. As far as I checked, Soe is the last individual involved in all of OWL to hit that number.
In the post-match press conference, I asked Hanbin and Edison if they had anything to say to their former teammates Fielder and ChiYo who just lost their opening match.
Edison: "Since you guys are the ones who picked Atlanta, I hope you deal with the tough loss."
This looks like a repurposed Lich King cross over asset to me.
I don't find any meaningful connection to the org or the players other than the color scheme.
Completely disappointing but not the least surprising. Shame.
If OWL was to get back to Twitch, I hope we get the Command Center back.
Watching in first person with an overview map was easily the most enjoyable way to watch professional Overwatch for me.
Guxue during the press conference on not winning RoleStar:
(wide smile)
"To be honest, I'm also a little surprised that I didn't win RoleStar because I'm a strong Winston player. I think I deserve the RoleStar."
OWL is about to change big time.
Overwatch League is waiving the remaining franchise fees owed by the Defiant.
Big implications for the future of the League.
"We will always be here, ready to play more games. We’re just waiting for you guys to call.”
- Checkmate during the Grand Finals press conference on his wishes for Overwatch esports
Press conference in the replies👇
It's not straight-up in-game advertising (as it looks like it's done via production and isn't directly implemented in the map) but I believe this is the first ad implementation of that kind in OWL.
If Shanghai Dragons was to take this series, it would be the most legit playoff run in OWL history. They wouldn't just beat NYXL, Titans and Shock, (the big three) they would've done so convincingly.
Assuming that Fleta is formally a coach now, I believe Profit is the last player left to have held an active player contract without interruption during an ongoing season since the inception of the Overwatch League.
Overwatch esports has some of the most talented FPS players currently touching a mouse.
If they lock into another game and bring the same work ethic required for pro Overwatch, the will inevitably make it to the top.
According to BoDork Leave and Shy are making the transition to VALORANT.
The clock is ticking. If a plan for the future is not decided on and presented soon as well as communicated to players, the bleed will be significant.
Sources: BiliBili Gaming is looking to add 3 of their Overwatch League players to their academy program in VALORANT.
The organization owns the Overwatch League team Hangzhou Spark.
Duelist duo for the team Leave and Shy are likely 2 of the candidates BLG wants to move to
Question: What would you rather win, OWL championship or OWL MVP?
Fury says he wants an MVP title, considering he has won OWL already.
Smurf's answer and staredown is a straight-up slaughter.
According to sources, the Gladiators offered ANS to let him out of his contract prior to the trade deadline in August.
He declined and is unfortunately not eligible to play for another team for the rest of the season.
Overwatch esports finally has a new competitive structure, the Overwatch Championship Series (OWCS).
Competition will be split into three regions (EMEA, North America, and Asia), with two international events connecting the markets.
We also got a rough outline of the schedule👇
I talked to
@g8r
about various topics.
Zero punches were pulled.
‣ ALL players considered for the Reign & who he offered
‣ How Shock signed Junbin away from ATL
‣ Viol2t as OWL's Lebron
‣ Coaching is overhyped
‣ Why Shock is expectedly bad
‣ ATL Sugarfree?!
& more🧵
I was unfortunately impacted by the layoffs at GGRecon.
If you have a full-time role in mind where I could add value, I'm open to suggestions also outside of journalism.
Late to this but I think both uNKOE and aKm deserve a lot of respect for what they have given to Overwatch even if the ending of it went about unceremoniously.
Rogue was an important team for Overwatch history and it deserves to be recognised and remembered.
Thanks to the Fuel for bringing a magical quality to the League for the last two years.
Always meta-defining, sometimes meta-defying.
You could've just rested on your APEX laurels but you committed to excellence, committing so much as an org.
Thank you, champions.
He has given more than 6 years to professional Overwatch and became the face of OWL towards the end of his career.
I talked to
@danteh
about:
- Most teams have a toxic atmosphere
- Money & young adulthood in OWL
- Will he stay connected to OW esports?
much more 🧵
According to sources, the Justice have reached an agreement to trade Happy to another Overwatch League franchise prior to the trade window closing in a couple of hours.
"If someone was to come up to me & say 'I want to be SOMEONE when I grow up' I would tell them it's not hard to become someone like me at all.
The main thing is that you have to be positive in every moment in life but at the same time be very tenacious" - SOMEONE, S6 Champ & MVP
Perhaps everyone is taking the piss because of the sheer absurdity of the situation but this is deeply tragic. This is the biggest legacy in Overwatch history coming to an end... All important stories lead back to that core roster. It'll never be the same.
More good news.
According to sources, Vigilante has also found a new home in the Overwatch League. An announcement by his new team is expected later today.
He made the finals in his rookie season then rejoined with old friends to try it again.
While that project ended,
@s9mmow
still shared fond memories as we talked about:
- How he was dropped
- The BEST coach in OWL
- A Reiner-shaped hole
- The issue with Defiant
& more 🧵
This season was Overwatch's Faker moment.
A rookie so incredibly skilled that they push the boundaries of what was previously thought possible.
There has never been anyone like him in OW esports and there might not ever be after him.
#OWL2022
MVP goes to
@Ow_Proper
Overwatch League dropped its 2023 Roster Construction Rules. It includes:
- Contract key dates
- Increase of League min. salary to adjust for inflation
- The death of rolling 30 days (HUGE!)
Sources: With the Overwatch League contract option extension window closing yesterday, teams were forced to make a decision on who to keep.
It won't be many but there is a silver lining.
when u wanna stream but u also wanna take a break but offseason only 2 months long and u also wanna travel but u also wanna visit home but u also wanna just chill a lil bit but u feel bad chillin cus ow2 just came out and u gotta grind 2 roles lol -______-
Sources: With the Overwatch League contract option extension window closing yesterday, teams were forced to make a decision on who to keep.
It won't be many but there is a silver lining.
Further rule disagreements around the Playoff seeding have arisen, this time to the direct disadvantage of the Boston Uprising. Other teams are indirectly impacted too.
Naturally, Head Coaches around the league aren't pleased.
For me,
@Outlaws
'
@Viol2t_OW
is on the final stretch to make the case for the greatest player of all time.
I sat down with him for a short and sweet one about:
- Why he left the Shock & why they struggle
- Joining Outlaws for "Shock blood"
- Losing to Glads and ATL
& more🧵
The fact that a new hero is on the free battle pass isn't at all a problem to me.
The only question is how much time needs to be invested to get it.
That amount will determine which mob I lend my pitchfork to.
Cynically minimal resources & last-minute roster build, the players of the Valiant are fighting for their first W
I talked to
@Seeker_ow
about:
- His rough rookie year with Uprising
- A lack of support from the Valiant
- Transfer chances?
- Toilet bowl vs Eternal
& more🧵
“If I don’t do it this year, I’m never going to.” -
@Casores_OW
on becoming a Head Coach
I sat down with the newly appointed
@TorontoDefiant
HC to talk about:
- What it's like to lose a Grand Final
- How he plans to build the team
- How Much Proper Can Squat🏋️♂️
- WAY More
🧵
Your real name is mostly involuntary with social and legislative pressure keeping you from changing it.
Your gamer tag is creative expression in much less constrained dimensions, carries self-determined history and can symbolize you, if you value the opportunity.
You're not ready for this one.
A 50+ minute interview with Gunba, Head Coach of the Florida Mayhem drops today.
"The idea of VALORANT players working as hard [as Overwatch players] is fucking insanity. They would never accept that. It's not part of their culture."
American Tornado, Toronto Defiant, or Team USA?
Same thing?
I talked with the group of friends who pulled a heist on the league about:
🇺🇸Rating Their Rookie Season
🇨🇦Who Could Be The Defiant MVP?
🇸🇦Rediscovering synergy & building a hive mind
🇨🇳🇳🇱 Finding the right staff
🧵
As for the Outlaws, I hope they understand that it doesn't make them lesser competitors by switching it up as they couldn't compete in the meta comp.
Let this be a lesson to everyone, if the common rules of life blow for you, reinvent them to your own personal bends and succeed.
The value translators provide to international esports communities is fucking nuts.
Some of them have built bridges between worlds & added so much flavor to each scene, most un- or underpaid, fueled only by the love for the game and its players.
Straight-up pillars of esports
Overwatch League is starting up again and with the introduction of the features of Overwatch 2: Invasion, a bunch is changing for competition too.
I wrote about the new map rotation and the current scrim meta states below.
(surprise additional Playoff match included)
I can confirm
@haloofthoughts
report on LIP going to the Atlanta Reign but according to my sources, ch0r0ng to ATL is currently not the case and not planned.
Looking for folks who get a HUGE amount of enjoyment out of watching Overwatch still.
How do you view the experience?
Do you look at it analytically, narratively, or something else?
Do you expect you think about viewing game differently than others?
Regarding Ado joining the Spark:
Ado has turned 20 in November. Call that "Adolescence"
Ado has the experience to teach each member. Call that "Ado lessons."
But at 8500 eDPI, he ain't no title contender. Call that "Ado, less sens!"
In the current beta build being used by the Overwatch League in week 1 of Summer Showdown, there is an active bug which makes Junker Queen's Commanding Shout apply twice.
The bug had been located a while ago and has yet to be fixed.
Will post more tomorrow but after this press conference, I'm convinced Mayhem is taking it all the way.
They are locked in. They just beat their biggest rival for the title convincingly. They know it's theirs to take.
Players CAN be picked up after the trade deadline on August 18th if they do not have an active Overwatch League contract by that point meaning the former Paris team members are eligible to play this season.