The first ever January in Overwatch's official existence has come and gone. Let's see how the competitive scene changed over it's 31 days.
So, already a month has passed in 2017. January was a pretty calm month, but did have interesting events such as the ongoing APEX league and Winter Premiere's LAN finals (NA only). As always, we summarized the shifts on our GosuRanking for you. Below a ranking snapshot of Europe, taken on January 31st:
1st Ninjas in Pyjamas (+1)
The difference in ranking between NiP and Misfits is minimal, but it is there and the Ninjas have climbed to the 1st place spot for the first time ever. Not due to their own performance though, as NiP has not participated in a single match over the past two months and as such isn't currently even visible on our rankings. Nevertheless, they will be playing in (and probably winning) the Assembly Winter 2017 in Finland tomorrow.
So Misfits has had to concede their #1 position in EU for the time being, losing some ranking due to their loss against LW Blue in OGN APEX's Season 2. The team has another decently difficult matchup ahead, when they play against Afreeca Freecs Red next week. Due to the nature of APEX, the team should have more than enough time to practice and increase their synergy even more, which is still affected by the major roster swap of late 2016. As the only (officially) European team in APEX, only they have the opportunity to sharpen their skill in Korea before the big Europe-only tournaments start back up again.
3rd Rogue (-)
It is quite noticeable in our rankings that we just experienced the start of a new year. Rogue, as well, has been taking a break, presumably to increase the teamwork of their new roster behind the scenes. This process took a hit when Skipjack announced his decision to leave the playing roster about 3 weeks ago. We do not know who his replacement will be yet, but with the organization's desire to create a French-speaking roster the options are limited.
4th Team Dignitas (+1)
With REUNITED disbanding, Dignitas moved up a spot by default. They are still hanging in there, officially signing their roster for another period. One of the most active teams in this edition of the ranking recap, Dignitas actually played a small LAN a few days ago. The Xtra Cup by Glory4Gamers featured a LAN finals at their own studio, and Dignitas ended up with a 2nd place finish after losing to The Chavs in the Finals. Dignitas will be playing in the StriveWire Monthly Brawl this weekend, as they continue to put in the hours while most of the teams above them do not (publicly).
5th The Chavs (New)
The Chavs were the surprise of January. The team, though competing since mid-last year, ramped up their performance last month when they swept through the Xtra Cup only losing a single game (not match!) in 7 matchups. Backed up by this achievement, The Chavs are a team to pay attention to during the upcoming StriveWire Monthly Brawl as they look to skyrocket into the spotlight and possibly attract a sponsor.
7th Grand Danois (New)
8th ex-TORNADO ROX (New)
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