Photo: Kai Kuczera / TakeTV
TakeTV’s Overwatch LAN will have its second edition with prize pool increased tenfold.
When TakeOver made its debut in May 2016, it featured the humble prize pool of just $5,000 and a line-up of eight European teams competing in the TakeTV studios in Krefeld, Germany. The tournament saw Rogue making a comeback from the losers bracket to win the re-match against Creation Esports—now under the Dignitas brand—to mark only their second tournament victory ever.
This set Rogue on a gold-laden path, which would see them winning ESL Atlantic Showdown at Gamescom, APAC Premier 2016 in Shanghai and most recently the Overwatch PIT Championship and the Overwatch Rumble, resulting in near $200,000 in winnings. The team itself is currently on a 34-game win streak and ranked #1 in the world.
Now, Rogue are ready to defend their very first LAN title, as they have been announced as one of the invited teams into TakeOver 2. The sequel to TakeTV’s Overwatch venture will offer a $50,000 prize pool, $25,000 of which will go to the champion.
The trend-setters from Ninjas in Pyjamas have also been confirmed and four more invites are to be revealed in the coming weeks. A qualifier will be held to fill the last two slots of the eight-man tournament.
This is without a doubt great news for the European Overwatch scene which hasn’t had a major LAN event since DreamHack Winter in November and has been notoriously lacking in that regard compared to the other regions, which has resulted in European teams either struggling or fleeing to North America.
Although no official information about who else will attend TakeOver 2, teams like Overwatch PIT finalists Movistar Riders and eUnited, DreamHack Winter champions Misfits and TakeOver 1 runner-ups Dignitas are all strong candidates.
