GosuGamers Weeklies have returned for another week of great competition.
As the Overwatch calendar builds up, the Weeklies have returned to bring you some of the finest matches on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. This week was chock full of great games, including the return of the Rocket Queen, a new Korean Challenger, and a new acronym for the composition you love to hate. Sadly our usual highlight reel has been delayed, but will soon be available!
The European scene has been relatively quiet for the last few weeks due to the ongoing Blizzcon World Cup EU qualification process. However, the Weeklies were still lively, as teams were more than willing to go head-to-head for the chance to win over $2000 in prizepool.
Stage two is where most of the action occurred. Favorites NiP and Faze rolled through their brackets with neither team dropping a single game on their way to a Winner’s Final clash. Faze was unable to field a full team for game 1, giving NiP a one game advantage, heading into the rest of the series. The rest of the series was a clinic, as NiP showed the world exactly how dangerous they were in the current meta. Bringing out their patented triple tank triple support composition, NiP pushed through Gibraltar in a dominating fashion, forcing Faze to respond in kind. Despite forcing overtime, Faze was unable to capture any points on the second set of rounds, giving NiP a smooth ride to the Grand Finals.
In the lower bracket, Tornado.Rox cruised through after a loss against Faze in the upper bracket for a rematch in the Loser Bracket Finals. The result was no different. Faze pushed past with a 2-0 win to set up a Grand Final runback.
If this were a movie, Faze would overcome their struggles against the NiP composition, emerging victorious. However, the Grand Finals showed exactly how brutal finding answers against this composition was. Faze struck first with an extremely solid push on Hollywood, capturing all three points. NiP responded in kind forcing a second set. While Faze was able to prevent NiP from capturing the last studio phase, a incredibly resilient hold on the Streets phase from the side of NiP gave NiP the 2-0 advantage heading into King’s Row. Faze was able to keep up, but the triple tank support composition limited Faze to a full map capture in Overtime, giving the prerogative to NiP to make one last capture for the tournament. NiP only needed one try, as they took the point effortlessly and secured a strong Weeklies showing.
Last week, LuxuryWatch came onto the scene, as the first Korean team to capture the GosuGamers NA title. This week, we had Kongdoo. In stage 2, Kongdoo leapt out right out of the doors, dethroning Tempo Storm in Winner’s Semis in a dominant fashion. Utilizing their extremely cohesive teamfight prowess, the Koreans were able to dismantle the Tempo Storm backline on King’s Row and Numbani, forcing Mangachu to bring out his signature Pharah to little effect. Behind their tank star Bibal, the juggernaut looked unstoppable heading into Winner’s Finals.
On the other side of the bracket, there was a little more drama. Upstarts Rise Nation met against EU Runners-up, Faze, in a match to be remembered. Faze leapt out early with a dominant Hollywood stage. However, xRetzi and his team surged back on King’s Row, bringing their own triple tank support composition on the first point to force a game 3 on Route 66. Faze was unable to match the tempo set by Rise Nation and fell in a huge upset.
Rise Nation would then meet Kongdoo in the finals. With the tournament approaching the late hours of the evening in North America, Kongdoo started to show signs of wear. The coordination, which brought them to the finals, fell apart slowly, as Rise Nation rode a wave of confidence to a 2-0 victory.
The lower bracket could have been a tournament in itself. After losing to Kongdoo early on, Tempo Storm cruised through the bracket, beating Faze on route to Kongdoo. The rematch with Kongdoo was a battle of air dominance. I'll let the VOD say the rest.
The grand final was more of the same. Tempo Storm raced out to an early lead by taking Dorado and King’s Row on the back of Mangachu’s clutch Roadhog play. Standin Bdropped’s phenomenal play on Ana was the crux of the triple tank support composition, showcasing how strong Biotic Grenade was against forcing out defensive ultimates. Rise Nation made it a game by dominating Tempo on Lijiang, sending it to a rubber match on Nepal. The last map was all about the TTS (triple tank support), as we saw a mirror matchup on the final point, but Rise was unable to keep up with Mangachu’s aggressive play and exited as Runners-up.
This marked the first Weekly victory on the side of Tempo Storm, as they look forward to a bright future.
What did you enjoy the most this week? Was it NiP’s dominance on the EU side? Was it the arrival of another solid Korean Team? Were you as impressed with Rise Nation’s run as we were? Let us know in the comments below.
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